Snow Storm
by AnnaLiss
Summary: Enduring a cruel winter and a powerful snow storm, a broke and homeless Ford Pines needs to find a warm place to stay over the night. After all... he would do anything for his son. (Ford is Dipper's father and Stan is Mabel's) A.U. Story better than summary. Feel free to rate or review. Fifteen years later, Dipper and Mabel are in for big adventures and shocking discoveries!
1. Chapter 1

The winter was cruel this year. The snow was around five or six inches. The powerful snow storm was not going to calm down; the wind blew wildly while more snow covered the already iced road. You had to watch very carefully where you stepped, if you did not want to slip and hurt yourself. People were locked up in their houses, having a glance at the storm once or twice before returning to the warmth of their home. Most lights were on, even if the time was around mid day. Constant smokes were coming out of the chimneys, meaning those people were burning up their reserve of fire wood.

Through this horrible storm no one dared to get outside. If it was possible, the storm seemed to intensify itself to a much worse peace. The wind was blowing so badly and there was barely anything you could see from the snow flakes. All of them were either around, or on, everything. Everywhere you looked there wasn't a single sight without snow. Yes indeed. Winter was cruel this year.

A figure made its appearance on the road way. A man, looking rather young, was walking, facing the terrible weather. He was determined to find a warm place for the night. He was with his face down, watching where he stepped. He couldn't bare it. He knew if he fell, he wouldn't be able to get up, and eventually will freeze to death. He was so cold. During these moments, he couldn't even remember what warmth felt like. But he wasn't to give up now! No! He was close, he was 100% sure he was going to find a house in this miserable time of winter season.

He could care less about himself though... he was doing it for the sake of his small bundle of joy. It didn't take a genius to know a baby could not survive this weather. And he would pay any price to save his baby.

Before this horrible storm even began, he wrapped the baby in the only blanket he had left, then he held the baby against his chest while clothed himself too. This made them both covered with a sleeveless undershirt, a T-shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a shirt and a black winter jacket. Right where the zipper ended upwards, the baby's head covered with a winter hat could be visible, so the baby could breath.

Body warmth was the only thing the man could think of to save his child. He was watching both. The baby he was holding in his arms, and where he was stepping.

"Hang in there son, it will be over soon" the man pleaded. The baby began to whimper and shiver. No doubt, his son was starting to feel the cold. Tears strung the man's eyes knowing he wasn't able to do more to warm up his child. It broke his frozen heart.

He thought angels were smiling at them both, when a big wooden house came into the view. It looked very welcoming, unlike the other houses he had seen and did not dare to disturb. His hopes grew even more as he saw the light of a room was turned on. When he reached the door, he looked at it uneasily. What if the owners did not welcome them? What if they intentionally won't answer the door?

The baby's whimpers began to grow louder as he started to move against the man's chest. The man kept a tight grip on his son. Gently he nuzzled their frozen noses together, as a small tear of hope escaped his eye. His ice cold hand knocked hard three times... and he waited... for a moment he thought everything was lost... then, he heard a woman's voice saying she would be there in a moment.

The door swung open, and she pulled the man inside immediately. "What happened to you dear?" she cried, seeing how badly shaped the man was and impressed to no end at how he risked his life to save the baby. First thing he noticed about her was the light blue eye shadow make up.

"Madame please" he began "I-I have no money. I've l-lost everything I had. I only have him" his eyes, as well as hers, drifted to the baby. "I came here in hope to raise some money, built a house, so it could be only the two of us. Together" his eyes never left his son as he spoke. He finally made the courage to look at the kind lady. "Please, madame, all I'm asking for is for us to stay over for the night. We will leave before you even know it!" he added, his body trembling badly from the house's warmth combined with the outside's coldness "B-But I ask f-for one night. I swear I wouldn't have b-bothered you, b-but my son is too young to resist this w-weather. This was the only thing I could think of. I'm s-sorry f-for any interrupting. We'll be gone a-as soon as the storm e-ends"

"Of course you can stay!" she sounded like she was pleading him to remain... true, he had already brought her to the verge of tears. "Stay as long as you want! I could care less! Come with me" the woman grabbed his hand, and dragged him in what looked like to be the living room. In no time, she threw some wood in the chimney and fired it up. He felt immediately how warm the room started to be.

How convenient that she had some winter clothes she had to bring tomorrow to a shop? He changed in them, while she put his wet clothes to dry off. Even the baby's clothes were changed. "I always wanted to have a baby, I just couldn't resist buying those little things when I saw them" he thought it was a bit weird, but if his son was warm, he was happy.

"Stay right here. I'll make you a hot tea and something to eat" she said, after dressing the baby.

"Madame" the young man interjected, she already did too much for him "Do not bother yourself with me, I can handle it. I am perfectly happy with a bottle of milk to feed my son."

She waved her hand and laughed softly "Nonsense." after that, she disappeared into the kitchen. The man smiled for the first time in that day. He went to his son, who was making small hungry noises, picked him up and gently settled them both before the fire. "We did it Dipper" tears of happiness escaped his eyes "God protected and rewarded us with this wonderful woman to take us in" he wrapped his arms around his son protectively "For a moment I thought we were going to -, but we didn't. I have never been so happy that I was wrong" a humorless laugh went past his lips. The baby smiled at him, and he couldn't help to smile back through his tears.

He hugged his son tight against his chest, murmuring softy and kissing the baby's head "Your daddy will always be here for you, no matter what"

"You must really love your son" the woman's voice gently cut off the moment. He turned and smiled warmly at his savior. She handed him a bottle of warm milk. He sat on the couch, with his son on his lap as the baby began to drink his milk hungrily. The woman almost had tears again, watching how the man held up the baby's bottle, helping his son to satisfy his hunger.

"I'd give my life for him" the man replied, smiling at his child "He is my world and the only reason I'm still breathing"

"But dear you don't have any relatives?" the woman asked worriedly, sitting on the armchair, closest to the chimney.

"I do... but... they left me when I needed them most" his face saddened a little bit "I lost everything. My money, my house, my family... I only have my son. Actually, he came up at my worst time, and helped me cope with it." it was clear to her that this man adored his son.

"But you look so young, what happened to you and his mother?" she was just a curious woman. After she welcomed them, least he could do was answer her questions.

"I am young madame, that is true. I am only twenty years old. My son here is barely three months old"

"So young" she whispered, and instantly regretted it, but the man did see her reasons.

"Yes, young" he gave another humor less laugh "The mother left us, I was supposed to graduate, but changing diapers isn't that bad either" they both laughed at this "She said she refuses to have a baby in college, and I couldn't bring myself, to let her have an abortion..." he trailed off and took a deep breath, just the memories were painful enough, he did not want to cry in front of the woman. She put her hand on his shoulder, showing it is alright.

"S-she said i-if I want to be a f-father. I h-had to do give her something in e-exchange." He allowed himself to sob out and loud, then he wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "I was at the top of my class and this is why I was given an enourmous grant for my scientific research. She said it was enough for her not to have the abortion. This is how I lost my money" the baby had just emptied his bottle, but his father could tell he wasn't satisfied yet. "Is it too much if I ask -"

"Not a problem dear!" she said as she dashed to the kitchen, returning a few seconds later with another bottle "I guessed he might be hungry again. Please continue" she sat down, handing him the warm piece of plastic.

"Ah, yes. I've lost my money, but I could care less about that. I have gotten something that's incomparable" the man had again that adoring face while watching his son "Of course. Not everyone saw my point of view. You see, I have an older brother, who is always away, but also a twin." the woman's eyes widened hearing he had a twin, twins aren't supposed to be helping each other? "My twin was long gone before me, kicked out by our father because he ruined my father's chance to get rich. "

"Maybe he didn't do it on purpose" the woman spoke her mind before she could stop

"Maybe he didn't" the man silently agreed "But I owe it to him big time. Being a father made me the happiest man on this planet. My own father did not see it that way. He saw my son as another mouth to feed and he couldn't stand it. He threw us both out, and this is how I lost my family"

"But haven't you tried to contact your brother?" again, she could not help but ask. This man's story was beyond interesting, sad and admirable.

"I did, but.." this time he gave real laugh "Irony of it all, is that he found himself a woman, and now he's having a daughter about my son's age to take care off. I did not want to be a bother to him. Especially after what I did to him. I can't face my brother. Not yet. I came here in Gravity Falls, to raise some money for me and my son, then the storm began, and... this is how we ended up at your house"

The baby finished his second bottle and clearly didn't want more. The man's face turned from the sadness of the story to happiness as the baby started to snuggle playfully in his arms. He held the baby over his shoulder, and patted his back gently. A small burp was heard and the man smiled again. The baby wrapped his small arms around his father's neck, not intending to let go. His father wrapped his arms around his son too and closed his eyes. He believed with all his being that he was richer than his father will ever be.

"You can stay as long as you want" she said kindly "What you have with your son is what I like to call true love. Don't think of leaving this place from politeness. This house could use some new people besides me. I am alone here, with no husband or child" he felt terribly sorry to hear that "You can have the guest room on one condition" he gulped at that, but she smiled it away "Get some sleep tonight, you look horrible" he sighed in relief and nodded. He could really use some sleep. Glancing quickly to see his son asleep in his arms, he went upstairs to the named room. It was small, but looked comfortable enough.

Tucking his son under the blankets, he kissed the child's head before quietly exiting the room. "Madame..." he met her again downstairs "There's not enough words in this world to thank you for what you have done for me and my son. If there is a way to repay your kindness I will do it! Until then I am forever in your debt."

"Don't be silly" she laughed waving her hand "Any person with a heart would have done it in my place. Now come on."

"Excuse me?" he tilted his head to the side in confusion

She laughed again "Your son has eaten, and I think it's time for you to eat too" she led him to the kitchen, showing how she prepared an entire meal just for him. Suddenly he felt very embarrassed. She had done so much for him, but not once he asked her name. She seemed to notice that because she giggled like a high school girl "My name is Susan. Susan Wenthworth" he took her hand and kissed it like the gentleman he was.

"And my name is Stanford Pines"

"Well, Stanford, what do you say about a hot meal and some tea?"

"I would thank you a million times madame"

A few hours later, after chatting with pretty Susan, fulfilling his stomach with food for an entire week, he returned to the guest room. The sight of his sleeping son greeted him, and it brought another smile on his face. Silently he closed the door and laid next to his child. He watched for a couple of moments the creature that makes his heart leap with joy. Half him. That baby is his. His own child.

"If I could take it back... from where the two of us began our journey together to the long road called life" Ford said quietly, not wanting to disturb Susan, who was sleeping in the other room "I wouldn't change a thing". He moved the baby's winter hat, enough to look at his forehead, but not taking it off. A birth mark shaped exactly as the Big Dipper was there. He loved that mark to death. It showed that he wasn't completely alone in the world. From all his clothes, the gloves were the only things he refused to change.

He took one glove off and watched his hand. He was born with six fingers on each hand. Just like his son with the birth mark. It was probably, what brought them close in the first place... he doesn't remember it too clearly, because every day with his child is a joyful one.

"Stanley" he murmured, looking at the stars on sky through the window "Wherever you are now, I hope you're as happy with your daughter as I am with my son." Ford turned back to his child, kissing his forehead affectionately, and putting back the winter hat on his head. Stanford wrapped a protective arm around his baby, and for the first time in months, he slept peacefully, absolutely not worried about what tomorrow's going to bring. Whatever it is, he and Dipper will face it together.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: First of all, thank you so, so, SO, much for your support. This actually was supposed to be an One Shot, but with you wonderful people, I made it a full story. I'm sorry that you won't see Stan or Mabel in this chapter either. I'm just trying to give the story some...events ...before adding Stan and present Mabel... by the way, is it wrong if I want Nina Dobrev to portray a fifteen year old Mabel? Haha, I really love her._**

The next day, Ford woke up to a wonderful smell of pancakes. He opened his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if to memorize it. He still couldn't believe how close he and his son were to die yesterday. A quick look on the window showed how the storm was over, the sun was shining, and people actually made up the courage to get outside of their houses. Susan was outside too, chatting with the mail man. He couldn't make out the words, but it looked like she was explaining something to him.

A small, but increasing cry from behind, made Ford snap his attention from the window and direct it right to his son. Picking him up, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Alright Dipper, let's get you changed." as he had said to Susan, changing diapers wasn't that bad as everybody thought. When you get it right, there's no way you can do it wrong, no matter how many times the baby needs to be changed.

He went to his backpack. At least he managed to take some things from his house, unlike his twin Stanley... umm, actually, no. When his father kicked them both out, he also threw the baby's things. Like a pack of diapers, some toys, and a pacifier, yelling how he should be perfectly fine on his own to deal with that new mouth to feed if he's such a genius.

He took the blanket he used to wrap Dipper in it before the storm began, now perfectly clean and dry and laid it down on the bed next to a clean diaper and a pack of wet wipes, proceeding with the task.

"That's my boy!" he cheered after successfully replacing the dirty diaper with a clean one, the baby's cries already ceased down. "Now, let's go downstairs. Susan is probably waiting for us." the smell of pancakes was coming from the kitchen and Ford found her flipping one on a pan.

"Good morning dear, I'm pretty sure you slept well because you look far better than you did yesterday." she said, handing him a plate with six pancakes covered in chocolate sauce with sliced bananas and granola, a cup of coffee, and a warm milk filled bottle for the baby.

"Ah, the best of this month." the young man agreed, sitting down on with his son on his lap. He cut the pancakes all into pieces, so it would be easier for him to eat and feed Dipper in the same time. He began to eat only when Dipper started to drink his milk, Ford, holding the bottle with the right hand and eating with the left hand.

After finishing breakfast, Ford wiped his son's mouth covered in milk (for some reason he woke up rather playful today), then his own. Dipper stared at the chocolate sauce remains on the plate as if they were a wonder. He bent over and covered his tiny hand in chocolate, laughing at the sight of his brown fist. He looked at his father smiling brightly, proudly showing off with what he did. Young Dipper stared again at his fist, most likely wondering what it tasted like.

His eyes got wide and teary as his father wiped the chocolate away, leaving baby Dipper to sulk and drop his head.

"Sorry little man, but you'll get nothing besides milk and baby formula until you turn one." Ford apologized. He remembered he read in a book once how babies will develop language easier if you talk or explain things to them. He was proud to say that his son was developing in a much faster pace than the other babies.

He clearly takes after his father.

Trying to get your son, who's only three months old, to look at you, after you denied him something was not in any of the parenting books he read though... "Come on Dipper. I said I'm sorry!" when Ford turned to the left side, the baby turned his head to the right, and when he turned to the right side, the baby would turn his head to the left. "Dipper are you mad at me?" the baby didn't make a sound. Well, silence can be an answer too.

"If this is what you want then so be it." Ford said, pretending to be angry "I will leave, so you won't have to be mad anymore." to make his act more plausible, he began to stand up. Young Dipper must've gotten the message, because he started to cry wildly, clutching Ford's clothes in his tiny fists, burring his head in his father's chest. Ford and Susan shared a small laugh at the baby's sudden display of affection.

"Come on Dipper, I was just kidding." Ford soothed him. The three month old looked up at his father. Ford said that while looking back into his son's big brown eyes, wiping the tears away with his fingers. " _I love you_. I can never leave you, and I will never do that." having his son throw such a tantrum, showed how much the baby already attached to him. It warmed his heart to no end knowing his son loved him maybe just as much as he loved his son.

Susan waited patiently for their father and son moment to end. Not that she wanted it to end. She loved watching these two together. It's like they were made for each other! "Here." she said putting on the table an envelope. Ford looked at her curiously, then at the envelope. "The mail man came today and asked for Stanford Pines, I told him you were staying at my place for a while and he handed it to me." Susan explained

Ford had to wonder, who would send this to him? Also, who knows that he's here? He shifted Dipper on his leg instead of his lap, wrapping an arm around his back to keep him from falling. Opening the envelope, he was surprised that someone wrote to him a letter. Even the writing seemed very familiar. Susan took her jacket and left to the market for shopping. She thought it was better if she gave him a few moments alone.

 _Dear Stanford,_

 _I hope it's you who's reading this right now and not somebody else. I knew you left for Gravity Falls after the workers stumbled on a map of yours with the city circled with a red marker. Your father turned your and your brother's room into a box training one. I want to say I never intended for things to go this far. Don't worry Shermy is fine, but I must say I miss my little free spirit son and his genius twin. A lot. I hope you and Dipper are all right since being a single father isn't as easy as they make it in movies. I heard even Stanley has a daughter. Ahh, how hard time passes without you two boys. How's my Stanley, and my granddaughter? Do you and Stanley still keep in touch? I wish you do, because in my years of life I've learned one thin._ _ **Family is everything**_ _. Don't tell your father a word about what I'm doing! Not that I think you two will ever meet again, but you can never be too sure. This is for you and Stanley... for the moment it's all I have..._

 _Signed, your mother._

Ford grew shocked as he read the letter. He looked into the envelope and pulled out a tank of money. His eyes grew wide. He was so lost in the moment that Dipper almost fell of his leg. Luckily, his parental instincts rang in time and no accident happened. This time, he put the baby back on his lap, while staring open mouthed at the dollar bills. After a quick count, the final sum was 5000$. His mother just send for him and his brother 5000$. 5000$! This was unbelievable!

"Dipper, we can finally buy ourselves a house!" He cried happily after recovering from the initial shock, picking his baby up and knocking over the chair in happiness. "This is wonderful! Luck is finally on our side!" He scribbled a quick note for Susan. He was so excited he barely got the writing to be readable. He dressed up, then dressed Dipper in the warmest winter clothes he could find and they went out.

This town was beautiful! So small, but filled with all the shops needed to be in a town. The houses were all big, enough for a numerous family to fit in. He wanted something big too! Even if it was just him and Dipper for the moment. It would be something they would both enjoy. Who knows? If he ever reaches Stanley, he can ask him to move in with his daughter! Ford thought it was the best thing he could do for his twin. After ruining his project, wasting away his chance to go to the most prestigious college in the country, Ford understood too late that his brother did it out of love and fear of being apart.

Also, by going to the other college, later being kicked out by his father too, he had his son. His own flesh and blood. His life, his heart, and his world. He hugged Dipper close to his chest, silently thanking heavens again for giving him the best gift in the whole universe.

He found the perfect place, a little far from the town so they can have some privacy. A place surrounded by a forest full of pine trees. It was perfect!

A week later, the house was entirely built. Ford was a little bit shocked when he heard how low priced the house was. When he asked about it, he was told that many houses are this cheap in Gravity Falls because of the many anomalies going on. Most people run away before paying for the house, so the mayor made the prices like that in hope to get more people buy them also, to convince them to pay before the construction starts.

The house had three floors to begin with. The first floor has two levels, where most of the rooms are located. There is the living room, an office, the staircase, the kitchen, hallway, bathroom, storage room, a parlor - it has a window and a fireplace for the colder days - , floor room, and Ford's to be bedroom years later when Dipper will be older and able to sleep on his own. And there was finally the attic, which constated in only two bedrooms and the floor. But there was another secret room that Ford managed with his high intelligence to build on his own. An underground laboratory which is accessed via a passageway behind a vending machine.

Ford began to build that room the day he heard why the price for the house is so low. All his life he had been teased and laughed at because of his six fingers. Gravity Falls gave him a feeling that there might be more than it shows to be. He decided he was going to dedicate his life studying all these anomalies, but he couldn't do it alone and take care of his son in the same time... he knew he needed help. Not being able to reach Stanley, he was still wondering who could help him... that until one day.

He was standing outside admiring his new house. He officially moved in, after promising Susan that nothing will change and he will visit her any time he can. "I finally did it." he muttered under his breath, proudly standing with fists on his hips.

"Stanford? Stanford Pines?" a voice called his name, and he knew instantly who it was.

"Fiddleford!" he cried, turning around to see his old college buddy. They hugged and stepped backwards to look at each other. It has been at least two years since they last saw each other, and nothing much changed between them.

"I heard you moved here, and I couldn't help myself, but come here and see myself if it's true." Susan has been working for some time as a waitress, and McGucket asked her personally about his friend when he heard her mention his name.

"It is. This is my house from now on." Ford moved away to show the house in all its beauty and glory. Fiddleford let out a long whistle when he saw it. "Yeah" Stanford agreed, and then he mimicked the whistle.

The young hippie dressed man, remembered why he had come there in the first place. "Look. Ever since you left the college, I've been meaning to ask you this. Why did you do that? You were so close to have the school at your feet, why did you quit out of sudden? What happened?" The gifted scientific man grinned as a sight of two people caught his eyes. He told his old roommate to wait there.

Fiddleford watched in wonder when his friend darted to a woman holding a baby. His eyes grew wide when he saw how Stanford's happiness seemed to increase while approaching them, then taking the giggling baby in his arms. He returned with a genuine smile on his face "Fiddleford, this is Dipper. Dipper, this is Fiddleford."

McGucket was sure he was going to faint in any second. When he held out his hand, the baby clutched his fingers tightly and cooed at him. He finally understood why people see children as the miracle of life.

They spend the next days catching up with each other's lives. How Ford had his son, how he ended up in Gravity Falls and meeting Susan, how McGucket graduated earlier with honorifics because of his high scores, how he ended up in Gravity Falls and what he wants to do next.

"How about we make a little change?" The genius asked, thinking he had found the perfect partner "I'm sure portable computers won't get more popular than they are today anyway."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"You must've heard about the anomalies going on here in this city." Fiddleford nodded "How about we study them all? Together? Come on, this place is the best for me, but I can't do it on my own and raise Dipper too. I need some help... so what do you say?"

McGucket opened his mouth to answer, but he let out a girly scream when a gigantic hand emerged from the forest, grabbing his car, never to be seen again. "Looks like you're walking home" Ford stated, all three of them were watching the free space where the car was seconds ago with jaws dropped "So, you're in?"

The hippie man's face spread into a huge grin "I'm in!"


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N. Hey, for Lily and everyone else. I will never, EVER, get annoyed because of a suggestion. I, actually, like them a lot, so if you want to make one don't be afraid. I promise I won't get mad. Also, now speaking only to Lily, I really love your ideas and I'm going to use them all if you don't mind. I hope you will enjoy the special moment I wrote for you.**_

 _ ***Somewhere in a Pennsylvania Motel…***_

"Ahh, Pennsylvania, a beautiful place. Also a quiet place with absolute ordinary things going on. The sun is shining. The citizens are happy, and the children are playing. Some old ladies are feeding the ducks at the pond, while some old gentleman are feeding the pigeons in a park... and all of them are completely unaware of what awaits them..." a manly voice spoke in a calm voice, like relating something. Silence took over for a second before the voice cried terrified "Oh no! Who is that? Could it be? Oh, yes it IS. Run for your lives people! Because Mabel the ultimate destructor is here!"

A three month old baby girl giggled loudly as she was destroying the fake city, built with cubes and some Legos. "Yes people! Your souls are going to smashed because Mabel the ultimate destructor is merciless!" a twenty year old Stanley Pines cried, using a dark voice this time, to the Lego people.

"Who needs Carla? Who needs ANY girl from this world, when you have Mabel?" Stanley laughed openly as his baby girl punched the Lego people "That's my girl! Destroy the city for your daddy sweetie!"

The only reason he could afford everything for her, was that sometimes he was playing the broken hearted single father in the middle of a crowd. That really provided to be a great idea! He could take care of Mabel, he could afford a night at a motel, he could buy her any toys she'd like... spending her daddy's money... sigh, this little girl is going to be his greatest weakness if she isn't already...

Baby Mabel let out a sound that seemed close to a war's cry as the entire fake city, which Stan spend at least an hour building it, was totally destroyed. All the toys were messily spread around the room.

"She makes me so proud already!" Stanley said tearing up, to no one actually, watching how she was hitting a Lego policeman against the floor repeatedly. He picked her up, not wanting her to catch a cold. Who knows what kind of unwashed walked on that floor? He took a moment to look at her, and how she was making funny faces at him, amazed of the little wonder he created. "Hey, Mabel?" she titled her head to the size, when she heard his voice, giggling and cooing happily "Do me a favor and never out grow your daddy, hear me? Never!"

 _ ***Gravity Falls, Oregon***_

Fiddleford and Stanford split in up, each taking one different side of the forest. Currently, Fiddleford was chasing some creatures looking like eyeballs with bat-like wings at the side. They appear to be bioluminescent, as their bodies emit light, even if it was dark in the forest. Meanwhile Ford dug out an egg and watched the Shape Shifter hatching in front of him, then immediately turning into the cup he had brought with him.

Stanford decided to record his findings, so he began to keep a journal where he wrote about all the anomalies in Gravity Falls, with the help of his college buddy, and at the moment he was writing about the floating cliffs. A few hours later he was in his office measuring a gnome.

"Fascinate, what did you say your name was?"

"Schmebulock... Senior." the gnome answered. Ford drew and wrote about everything he and McGucket had seen. From gnomes to zombies, from multi bears to manotaurs. It was wonderful! He was finally feeling proud to be special. No more embarrassment for his six fingers! He finally felt at home in Gravity Falls.

Another powerful snow storm hit the town. Ford made sure once again that all doors and windows in the house are locked, before going back to the parlor, where wood was burning in the fire place, warming up the house.

"Alright, this is the warmest room in the entire house. So, what to do you want to do, considering the storm will not stop for at least two or three hours?" Stanford said to Fiddleford

"Oh I think you know." McGucket said in a song voice

"Let's play Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons!" they both shouted excitedly. However the excitement was broke after they heard a cry coming from upstairs.

"Eh, sorry about that." Stanford said scratching the back of his head. "Will you set up the game, while I go check on Dipper?"

"Sure, no problem." Fiddleford replied, looking for the game, even if Ford left the room before he could hear the answer. He thought his son might be hungry, so he went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of milk, and ran upstairs. He entered the bedroom, the one in the attic he and Dipper were sharing.

Dipper chose it. Seems like he loved this room more than the rest. The baby was in his crib and the hanging crib singing toy was spinning. Which was really weird. Why? Because Ford designed that himself, to sing a lullaby, so it would keep Dipper asleep when he was working, especially when there was any noise in the house that could wake him up.

While the hanging crib singing toy was still spinning and singing, Dipper was still crying. Ford stood like a statue for a moment... his son had never done that before. The toy was enough to keep him asleep through the night. It went off only when it sensed he needed a diaper change. His father always made sure he was well fed before he went to sleep, and by the smell in the room, Dipper did not need to be changed.

"What's wrong Dipper?" He picked up in his arms the crying infant, and the baby took no time to wrap his arms around his father's neck while crying on his shoulder. Ford's hand gently rubbed his back as he kept crying. Eventually, after he started to calm down, he was taken down in the parlor room, only because Fiddleford was still waiting there. "I'm sorry it took so long, I don't know why he started to cry like that so suddenly."

"Maybe he woke up, he didn't see you around, and he just got scared." McGucket said, watching Stanford rocking his son to sleep. The genius merely raised an eyebrow, before pulling away to look carefully at the baby.

"Dipper…? You were scared because you thought I wasn't around?" he asked feeling his heart pounding in his chest full of love. The baby yawned cutely, and then he smiled at Ford and extended his small arms towards his father as if he wanted to grab the older man. Stanford's smile grew even bigger and he hugged his son tightly.

"Aww." Fiddleford cooed watching the pair "Now that's what I call adorable in a nerdy way, it's nerdorable!"

"Please don't use that word again." Ford replied making a disapproving face. "I hope you don't mind if I let Dipper sleep here, I don't want him to get scared again." he added, rocking his son to sleep. Even if there were many weird baby inventions today, he preferred to rock his son himself. It felt more natural. Also, it felt amazing how the baby always moved his head searching for the heart to listen to his father's heartbeats. It is something so wonderful that can't be described in words.

"As long as you let me win, there won't be a problem." McGucket replied rolling the dice in his fists. Stanford put his son to sleep on the couch and covered him with a blanket.

"You wish" Ford laughed as they began to play Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons. It went well for a while...

"Alright, you entered the chamber." Fiddleford said narrowing his eyes with an evil smirk; he put the palm of his left on his cheek and blinked rapidly like a girl "Princess Unattainable beckons you, but wait! It's a trap!" Ford backed away with a gasp "An illusion cast by Probabilitor the Annoying!" the scientific genius noted in his mind to use that move if he will ever play this game with somebody else besides his old college buddy.

"Oh, but I know his weakness!" he replied with a challenging look, right when he was about to throw the dice on the board, another cry emerged from his son. What made him drop away the game was that this particular cry wasn't like the other ones. It was a pained one, like he was hurting!

"There, there, what happened? You're fine just a minute ago." Ford said softly taking the baby in his arms, rocking him.

"Maybe he's hungry?" Fiddleford asked titling his head to the side. Concerned about the baby's health too. Stanford didn't think that his son was crying because he was hungry, but he decided it was worth giving a try. He grabbed the bottle he had brought with him in the room, after bringing Dipper too. But when he tried to feed the baby, the infant turned away his head like he was disgusted and cried even harder.

"I don't understand." Ford cried worriedly "He's not hungry, not sleepy, doesn't need to be changed. Dipper, please, why are you crying?" He put his hand on his son's head while rocking the baby against his chest. His color drained from his face as he gasped loudly and motioned for his college friend to come closer. "Please... please, Fiddleford, touch his forehead and don't tell me he's having a high temperature!"

The young lad did as he was told and touched the child's forehead, he looked at his partner and apologized "I'm sorry Ford, but he's burning up."

"Oh no, no, no." Stanford began to pace around the room mumbling to himself more likely "This is bad. This is really bad. What do we do? What do I do? Oh damn it, my own son... But ..., how? How could he? From where?" he held the baby boy against his chest and left the parlor room, maybe it was too hot there. "Oh Dipper please forgive me, I'm such a bad father, I'm so sorry!" he cried.

"Hey." Fiddleford said coming after them "I gave a quick call to Susan." Ford's eyes pleaded him to bring some good news "She says to give the little guy a hot bath with the door opened, so the air in the house would be clean. Keep him hydrated. And if it doesn't go away by tomorrow, go to a doctor."

Ford did exactly as he was told, but to no avail. The next day he took young Dipper to a doctor, who insisted on sending the baby to the hospital for some analysis. When he heard that, the young father fainted right on the spot. And when he woke up, he was already at his house. The following day, after he had taken his son back home, not that he would take 'no' for an answer, he was waiting anxiously for the results.

"Hey" Fiddleford said entering the house "I've got your call and I came as fast as I could. How bad it is?"

"I don't know." Stanford replied with his head in his hands "The results didn't come yet, and I'm even more scared than the day his mother went into labor. I almost missed my son's birth." young McGucket felt he had to do something to console his friend...

"Look." he said, even if the other man did not look at him "Dipper's currently asleep and you always seem to know when he's crying..." that because he secretly installed in the house small speakers so he could hear his son from any room "Maybe if we do something, you'll get your mind off ... these things?"

"Thank you, but I'm not in the mood." Ford gently declined

"Not even the portal we've been working at like crazy?" The dark brown haired man raised his head from the ground.

"Fiddleford are you nuts? We've been perfecting it, but we don't know what's on the other side!"

"It's worth giving a try at least, right?"

It just didn't work that way... When the Portal was activated for a test run, McGucket was almost sucked in. Stanford managed to pull him out in time, but McGucket wasn't himself anymore and began to act strangely. He spoke in backwards ciphers and issued a very strange warning "When Gravity Falls and earth becomes sky, fear the beast with just one eye." After recovering, McGucket wasn't the same man. And he probably will never be the same man again...

Ford put his hands on the other's shoulders. "Fiddleford, get a hold of yourself, you're not making any sense."

McGucket jerked away from Stanford "This machine is dangerous. You will bring about the end of the world with this. Destroy it before it destroys us all!"

"I can't destroy this, it's my life's work!" The six fingered shouted, the idea itself wasn't possible in this life for the author of the journals.

"I fear we've unleashed a grave danger on the world. One I'd just as soon forget. I quit Ford! I quit!" with that McGucket walked away as a forever changed man.

"Fine!" Stanford yelled angrily, even if he was already alone "I'll do it without you! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!" in the entire room a baby's cry was heard, sounding like it was coming from all directions. Ford gave a long and audible sigh, before going to check on his son.

After he had left, even if the portal was shut down... a golden triangular dream demon emerged from it. He had a very evil laugh and had formed already his plans to dominate the world. All he needed was a soul or a body to have as personal puppet, but important enough to make him be untouchable... and that baby was nothing, but perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

_**DELETED AND POSTED AGAIN CHAPTER. SORRY.**_

 _ **By the way I posted the second chapter of the 'One Shots Series' , you might want to check it out.**_

The following days were the hardest for Stanford. His friend, college room mate, and partner... was changed forever. He could never be the man that he was a few days ago. He was always flinching when people tried to touch him, screaming when he heard a door being opened, or begging for his life and mercy when someone tried to talk to him. He was afraid of people, literally... he was always locked up in his room trembling and shaking, with a baseball bat in case someone dared to enter his room.

Stanford was feeling terribly guilty, basically he had forced his friend into the project, he never gave the man a choice of his own! What has he done? A man's life was ruined for eternity and it was all his fault... no matter how much Susan tried to make him think it wasn't his fault, there was no way.

"Just look at him, and tell me this isn't my fault" he'd say when they'd try to pay him a visit, all they would see is a frightened man... they'd be cursed by the mad man for stepping onto his territory and thrown out. Stanford tried in vain to find a cure for McGucket, he was already a lost cause. He spent weeks searching for any clue on how to make Fiddleford the man he was once, but the portal could not undo what it has already done.

But that was not the end of it! Oh , no! There was much more to come for him. The letter from the hospital with Dipper's analysis came a week later. When he read it, a pool of tears started to pound from his eyes. He dropped it to the floor and took his head between his hands wondering how in the world could he let this happen? Dipper's lungs don't function well. He has trouble with inhaling and exhaling, and it isn't curable. It's a birth defect. They say, when he will grow older he's most likely to suffer from Asthma, Bronchitis or worse Chronic Bronchitis.

Ford didn't do much that day. He felt the need to get it all out on his own, ignoring Susan's multiple calls. He took his baby in his arms and looked at how peaceful he was sleeping. Would anyone ever consider he had a birth defect? Tears welled up in Ford's eyes. He had failed to protect his child and now he was paying the price. When he asked if this has anything to do with his own birth defect and the fact that the baby's mother was very sick during the pregnancy... the doctor's mouth might have been closed, but his eyes told him everything.

"I'm so sorry" he muttered blinking back his tears "I failed you as a father" his eyes moved to his six fingers and glared at them so hard that his hand could burn . He would've accepted every curse and sickness in this disturbed world... as long as his son had part of none of them. He put the baby in his crib and he dragged himself to the bed, taking off his glasses and getting under the covers. He took one last look at the sleeping child, before he turned his back, his face at the wall and his tears falling freely. His heart as well as the rest of his body and soul were in a terrible pain... to be a single father, to be on your own, to have a sick child, to have a birth defect, to lose your friend, to lose your best friend and brother... he wondered if his life could be any worse than now? Any direction he'd take now couldn't make things worse. Not anymore.

 _ ***At McGucket's house***_

Fiddleford was snoring loudly on the floor, after he was tricked to take a sleeping pill. Out of sudden he was wide awake. His mouth freed an ear piercing scream as he ran to barricade himself in his room.

"HE IS HERE! HE IS HERE! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE"

 _ ***Stanford's house***_

"Maybe I can help with that" a voice said from behind. Ford's eyes opened wide in shock and fear. He jumped from his bed and immediately ran in front of the crib.

"Who are you and what do you want from me? " he shouted at that... thing. It was a yellow, triangular creature that bears a strong resemblance to an Egyptian Pyramid and the Eye of Providence. It has a single large eye rimmed with four short black lashes on its top and bottom and thin, black limbs. It wears a small, black bow tie, and has a tall, thin, black top hat that floats just above his head.

"Calm down buddy" the creature said waving his his hand up and down. Along with his hand the room moved up and down too, all the breakable things crashed instantly, while the genius and his son remained unharmed. "The name's Bill, by the way. I'm a dream demon existent only in the mindscape" it floated towards Ford and put its arm around his shoulder. "And, I'm here to help you"

"I don't need your help! " Ford shouted backing away from the triangular thing. Only now he realized how the world around him seemed to be colorless and lifeless and time looked like it froze.

"Oh, but I think you do" Bill replied floating throw him, he paused and floated above the sleeping baby "Well, aren't you a cute little thing? " he cooed, his eye narrowing at the baby's cuteness, rubbing his fingers against the baby's soft cheek. He couldn't wait for that body to grow so he could posses it. Right now, the infant was useless to him.

"Get away from my son! " The scientific man yelled furiously, running to the crib and taking his child in his arms.

"Come on, the kid was already harmed when I came, see? " another baby appeared on the floor, when Bill's hands clapped together, both covered in blue fire. The baby was only limbs and muscles and the eyes were glowing bright yellow. Where the lungs were, it looked more like a hot air balloon. When Bill snapped his fingers, the lungs began to swell so bad until they simply popped and the baby dropped down in a poll of blood. "That could be yours if you're not careful" Ford screamed terrified backing away from Bill even more

"Just tell me what you want and leaves us alone" Stanford held his son tightly against his chest. He was fearing for their lives both, but didn't want to show that.

"As I said I want to help you" he pointed towards Dipper and a small clock appeared to the baby's back before it burned away "His time is coming to an end and you know it"

"No! I will not allow it! " Ford yelled covering his son with his arms. He put his hand on the child's head and turned his back to the one named Bill. Tears threatened to fall just at the thought of losing his child, not after going throw so many things to protect him, his son can't die. He just can't!

Bill rolled his eye in annoyance, protective parents are so tough to deal with. "Look, some things were never meant to be. Like this kid here. In exactly nine months and eight days, he's going to choke up with his own blood and die later. " it was the truth, just very very twisted. The kid's bound to choke up with his own blood, but he'll survive. 'Die later' actually means years and years later. People just don't know how to appreciate medicine these days.

The human's eyes grew wide in fear and looked at the sleeping baby. Tch, people and their feelings. They usually get annoyingly dramatic, but this guy here might beat them all.

"And how do you know that? What if you're lying to me?" Stanford wanted with whole being to believe the otherwise, so he tied to any hope had. Bill said he is a demon, after all, he could be lying. Still, what did Ford have that Bill wanted and didn't already have? He couldn't find an answer for that question no matter how much he tried.

"Well, let me put this up in another way. Your son was born to die, as everybody else in this twisted round thing you call Earth, but much faster than the rest, ok? And it happens that I might be a decent demon enough to help you. I'm going to cure this little cutie here, for you. "

"But why do you want to help me? " the genius scratched his head feeling confused.

Bill made himself busy, watching his nonexistent nails and admiring them quite a lot "Because I like you. You managed to unravel most secrets and mysteries in Gravity Falls, and I'm totally impressed by your performance. "

"No! No. No. No. No" Ford shook his head determinedly, feeling his head was about to explode. He glared at the bright yellow demon and pointed at him with his finger "As you said. You're a demon. I can't trust you! "

"No one said you can" Bill countered back. "But remember this, six fingers. " His color went from bright yellow to a bright red and his body started to grow, taking over the room, the house and the entire place, inch by inch. His own body became a projector and started to display images as he spoke "When the time is over, and the clock will stop ticking. " image of an old clock breaking in pieces. "When your son will have a simple cough. " One year old Dipper having a short simple cough. "That cough will come back over your son ten times more powerful, he will feel his body crushing and he will start to suffocate. " Dipper can't breath and coughs again more violently falling down on his knees "By time you will reach him, he will be spilling out of his mouth a pool of my favorite liquid. " Dipper's violent coughs were mixing with blood "And by the time you will try to do anything else, he will be already dead. " a dead Dipper in a crying Ford's arms.

The six fingered man felt his knees going weak. His blood was running cold and he thought it wasn't long before he's going to pass out. He was taking deep breaths to calm himself and closed his eyes to block those morbid scenes Bill was implanting in his head. He looked in the demon's eye pleadingly "Please, he's just a baby. He's been on this Earth for three months only. Please don't take him away from me"

Bill almost grunted out loud. "As I said before" he was becoming annoyed, what's this after all? A sappy soap opera? He would enjoy them more if people instead of crying, were dying. "I'm here to help you. It's not my fault that he's going to die. I want to spare his life for you because I like you" he started to float into the distance, farther and farther away from Ford and Dipper. "Just not now, you had me bored and tired. Maybe next time, when you're ready to trust me and make a deal, draw this and I shall come to you" Bill summoned a wheel with ten symbols. It was a bright, glowing blue and then a blue light flicked around the wheel, briefly highlighting each symbol. "And remember! Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye! " in bright yellow flash. Bill was gone for good... for the moment.

Ford bolted up from his bed, completely soaked in his own sweat. Looking around he saw everything was back to normal. He was panting hard, wiping his forehead with his hands. He grabbed his glasses on the night stand and darted from his bed towards the crib. Dipper, by a miracle, was still sleeping peacefully. He fell on the floor feeling a thousand tones of weight on his shoulders.

"Thank God you're okay Dipper" he muttered still panting, resting his forehead against the crib's bars. The phone from downstairs started to ring, which had Ford concerned over whom would call him at this late hour? He went to change his sweaty clothes with new ones, ignoring the telephone. When he came back, it was still ringing. Who wants to talk to him so badly? He took Dipper in his arms and went downstairs to find out. After his meeting with Bill, he decided he won't let Dipper out of his sight. Ever again!

"Hello? " he asked picking up the phone

"Stanford! I'm sorry I woke you up at this hour, but its an emergency! " came the worried cry of a very familiar voice

"Susan? " he became confused and raised an eyebrow. She never called him at this hour before. Being a phone designed by himself, he pressed a button and he put her on speaker. He could go in the attic or in the secret lab and he would still hear her perfectly. "No problem Susan, what's wrong? "

"It's Fiddleford, you have to go to his house. Oh, it's so terrible "

"I'll be right there" He replied ending the call. His face turned from confusion to determination. He didn't want to lose any minute in plus staying at home. His friend needed him and it was the least Ford could do for him, after ruining his life. When he reached McGucket's house his jaw dropped in shock. An ambulance and some cops were in front of the house along with curious citizens from Gravity Falls.

"What's going on here? " he asked Susan after he saw her talking to a guy wearing a white lab coat. Tall, blond, pretty young, maybe a little older than Ford with a very serious face.

"Stanford, you came! " a relieved Susan shouted as soon as she saw him

The man answered. "My name is Cole Hershey. Professional psychiatrists, specialized in the treatment of mental, emotional, or behavioral problems, and it seems like Fiddleford McGucket has lost his mind tonight"

"But how was that possible? " Susan asked, concern all over her face "He was perfectly fine a few days ago"

"I'm afraid we don't have an answer for that, madame, not yet" Cole answered narrowing his eyes on the ground "We've got a call from the neighbors, saying he started to yell and scream. Then he barricaded himself in his room and tried to set himself on fire. " Both Susan and Ford gasped in shock at that.

"And what was he was yelling and screaming about? " Ford asked, his tone demanding to have an answer. Cole's eyes send Ford a cold look, not liking his tone at all.

"Was if safe to bring your child here? " he countered back pointing at Dipper

"It was better than leaving him home alone " the genius snapped immediately. He will not allow people to question his methods of raising his son. Gaining his composure, he realized the man asked a simple and normal question and tried to answer without gritting his teeth too much "His mother and I are separated. And I didn't have a place or a friend to drop him at"

"What about the neighbors? " Cole questioned, raising an eye brow. Stanford shook his head.

"I don't have any neighbors. I don't like crowded places, that's why my house is located close to the forest" Cole nodded at this, his serious face changing to a thoughtful one. Due to all the noise and sharp replies exchange, baby Dipper shifted in his father's arms. He opened his eyes and raised his head resting his small arms on Ford's chest. They both shared a loving look, before Dipper gave a long and tired yawn, then wrapped his arms around Ford's neck, going back to sleep.

The moment was broken when a screaming Fiddleford with a terrified face, who was tied to a stretcher and dragged to the ambulance, came into the view "HE'S HERE! HE HAS COME! OUR WORLD IS GOING TO END! " his screams ceased as the doors closed and the ambulance drove away.

"Where are you taking him sir? " Susan asked, shocked after what she just witnessed. This clearly wasn't the man she thought she knew.

"We are taking him to a mental hospital and see what we can do about him. I suggest you to go back to your homes and stay safe. " Cole said that especially to Ford, who glared at him in return, before turning his back and offering Susan to walk her home. When they were out of view, Cole called his assistant over "I want you to keep a close eye on Stanford Pines and what's he doing. This guy is a weird one and I think he's somehow responsible for this. Keep a track with everything he's doing and especially with that baby. "

 _ ***IRUG ORVHV GLSSHU***_


	5. Chapter 5

_*A few weeks ago*_

"Come on Mabel" Stan pleaded her again, she has already been crying for hours. HOURS. Did he mention it's the middle of the night? "Mabel I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere" seems like the girl was afraid of thunder storms. Stanley rocked her for so long he felt his arms going numb. No matter what he tried, she couldn't ignore the sound of the thunder, with every each one, her cries seemed to increase in level. He tried to call Carla, but she said she's on a vacation in Hawaii with her boyfriend, blah, blah, blah, she's tired, she had a very long night, blah, blah, blah, she'll call later.

And now, Stan is still trying to calm his daughter. Every second he hears her cry, he feels a stab in the heart. It feels like he's not good enough as a father. Like he had failed her already. She clutched harder his shirt in her fists, searching for any comfort from him. He's unable to give her that. And it struck him badly.

"Oh Jesus, dude, help me here." Stan pleaded looking at the sky through the window. At this point he was willing to ask even the Gods, if it meant Mabel or the storm will stop, for the sake of his sanity. "Alright help me now and I promise I won't steal from the church anymore!" another thunder hit hard the sky and the baby girl let out a terrified scream.

Stanley groaned out annoyed "There must be a way we can cover this up!" he shouted at the ceiling before an idea flashed his mind. He gently unwrapped Mabel from him and put her on the bed. If it was possible, the moment she felt him slip away she cried even harder. But Stanley's idea was so great it just couldn't wait.

He grabbed a hammer and with it, he took a few boards from the wooden floor, which he used to cover up the window so Mabel won't see the storm anymore. Then he stuck in her ears some cotton balls so she won't hear it so bad. Then he went under the covers with her and placed her on his chest letting her know that he's there. Ten minutes later the cries deceased to whimpers.

"Look baby girl, daddy's here and he didn't leave you" It was the first time he studied her completely since she was born. Sleep wasn't going to come anytime soon, he barely got Mabel calm, but he doesn't think he is going to get much sleep for himself. This girl... she was a wonder! One night when he didn't have enough money to buy a condom, but both of them very horny, resulted in this.

He remembered the day she was born crystal clear. The hard rain, how he barely got in time to her birth, the moment the doctor announced it's a girl, the feelings he had when he first held her in his arms, the rage he felt when he was told he couldn't be a part of his daughter's life and how five seconds later he ran from the hospital with Mabel in his arms and their wallets in his pockets _**(One Shots- Chapter 2)**_

She has his looks that's for sure. The same nose he had on his baby pictures (must really ask Ma, what she has done to them), his brownish soft hair, Carla's a darker shade. The same eyes, every time he looks at them it's like a mirror reflection. The same goofy smiles, or when she stops crying, she becomes happy and giggly again. This girl is entirely Stanley... , but her personality comes from Carla, a little bit of him too, but he can tell Carla's personality is dominant on her. The smile on his face slowly dropped.

"Mabel..." he was all straight and serious "I may not have much to give you. I am not the greatest model that has ever lived, and I am not one of the rich people in this horrible run, we call life. There's a high chance you're going to hate me when you grow up, because, let's face it, I am a low life. I don't have a job, or a house, and I can't even go back to my parents' home. But I want you to know one thing... whenever you need me, I'll always be there, whenever you have a problem I want you to come to me. I don't want us to have the same relationship me and my father had. I want to give you only the best and make you be proud of me someday... everything I own is yours... for the moment, it's only my heart."

She snuggled up on Stanley's chest, resting her head on his shoulder. A little bit later, he figured she was listening to his heart beat and her breath was slow and soft as to match the beat. Five minutes later she was asleep as if she just had a horrible nightmare and now she's fine.

Though, the owners of this motel room, are going to be very upset when they will get back...

 _*That Morning*_

He parked his car in front of a motel, but when he counted his money he realized he doesn't have enough to stay over the night. Mabel was set on his lap playing with a dinosaur toy he had stole from a carnival shop after he failed to win the game. He sighed hard looking at his daughter. He had never let her sleep in the car. She doesn't deserve this! She deserves a warm bed in a warm room.

"Yes we'll be gone for the entire night" a male voice reached his ears. He looked through the opened window to see a rich couple (assuming that by the way they were dressed) talking to the receptionist.

"It's possible we won't come until later than 10 a.m. next morning" the man's wife, hot blonde, sexy voice said. The receptionist nodded and he took the key of their room. The couple turned around walked to their car as they drove away with the hotel's worker waving them off. The receptionist walked back inside and put the key in a safe place, with Stanley following him closely having another one of his crazy ideas.

He used the motel's phone pretending to call his mother, when he actually commanded four pizzas. When the order arrived and the pizza guy started to fight with the receptionist, Stanley took the key's room and returned to Mabel. And so, they ended up spending the night there.

 _*The Next Morning*_

As soon as Stanley woke up, he wanted to go back to sleep. Fatherhood isn't easy, especially when you do it on your own. He glanced at the clock and groaned. 9:32 a.m. Oh great... OH NO!

Stanley shot up from the bed realizing he had less than half an hour to leave this room before the owners return. Mabel somehow ended sleeping up next to him, and he made slow moves getting of the bed. The storm at least covered Mabel's cries, but the storm's gone. He couldn't risk to have a crying baby ruining his plans from running away from the law... again!

He packed quickly Mabel's toys, trying to make it look like everything was at its place, and he didn't see when he stepped on a small triangular toy, a pyramid he bought from an antique shop. His eyes went wide with tears and lips glued together, he brought his hand up to his mouth and bit hard on it trying to muffle his pained scream. After he pulled his hand away he saw his teeth's marks and blood dripping off... he's going to need a stitch for that.

He gave the toy and angry kick and it reached somewhere deep under the bed. Stanley growled loud, cursing in his mind the toy in every existent way. After he made sure all the toys were packed he got down on the floor and extended his arm under the bed trying to find that toy. However, his hand reached something else. It was small and rectangular, metallic, hard. When he got it out, he gasped in shock.

He had found a fucking safe! The next thing Stanley did was very simple. He ran out of the motel claiming he was very late for something, with the safe hidden under his jacket.

 _*A few days later*_

"Hello...Ma? Is that you?"

"Stanley?" came the incredulous voice of his mother. Stanley almost cried after hearing her voice for the first time in years

"Yes Ma, it's me... your little free spirit Stanley" he sniffed, blinking away his tears. Though, he felt bad for calling her so early in the morning, but this was usually the hour their father was leaving for work. They talked about everything, about their lives, about his life. She told him, how their father changed their room the way he pleased (that didn't surprise him at all), mostly about Mabel and how, one day she's going to be a very beautiful girl. Mabel even gurgled some sounds when Stanley handed her the phone and her grand mother was touched to the heart.

He talked to her at least an hour and he felt he could talk to her even more. That safe was full of money, and right now he didn't care about them since Mabel had everything she could want, and first he called when he knew his mother was asleep and let her call him the second time, speaking on her money instead of his.

"Ma..." there is a question that hung on his tongue for a very long time "How...how's Ford?" he hesitated even to ask. What if he was there? What if he wanted to talk to him? What will be his reaction when he will find out his good for nothing brother is a father at the age of twenty? The conversation was silent, almost dead, Stanley thought about hanging up, when his mother made up the courage to speak.

"He's...not here anymore" his brows furrowed in confusion

"What do you mean?" he heard a tired sigh coming from her

"I can't believe after all these years my boys haven't made up"

"Neither can I Ma..." he admitted with a sad tone, he remembered the times when they used to be best friends, promising each other they will be together forever. And look where are they now. Mabel touched his face and pouted at him, he almost laughed at how his baby girl felt his sadness and tried to make it go away. Yup, Carla two.

"Are you anywhere close to Gravity Falls, Stanley?"

"That town in Oregon, yeah why? Is Ford there?" his chest filled up with a tingling sensation, his brother might be there! They might actually see each other again!

"He is!" Ma replied, hoping her sons might make peace and become again so close just like they used to be when they were children. Add that, there was another thing tying them up now. "There must be something you need to know about Stanford though..." Stanley's eyes went wide with fear, he had to make sure he was holding tight Mabel so he wouldn't drop her... Did something happen to Ford?.

"Ma...D-did something happen to Ford?" he put that thought out loud, hesitantly. A part of him didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"Oh don't badmouth, Stanley!" his mother scolded him, much to his relief. It meant his twin was fine. "Your brother is more than alright in Gravity Falls, he gave me a call a few days ago and even talked to he didn't want to speak to your father..." she sighed sadly "Seems like they aren't ready to move on from past events and Stanford isn't ready to forgive your father just yet."

"WHAT?" Stan yelled in the phone. Ford was the kindest personhe knew and always wanted to make Pa proud of his son. Why in the world would be Ford so upset about that made him not forgive Pa just yet?

"Stanley. Baby has anyone in the family told you anything about this?" Ma asked concerned, she could swear Stan and Ford did talk to each other even if they haven't made up their problems... they always did so.

"No Ma" Stan replied somehow annoyed, he shifted Mabel in his arms, giving her the possibility to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his shoulder. And she did. "Ever since father kicked me out, until now, I've spoke with you and only you!" he grazed his teeth. He still loathed his father for what he did.

His mother sighed again, which in the morning isn't such a good thing "It's a long story, Stanley, you might want to take a seat..."

 _*Present Time*_

Stan got off the bus, he finally made it to Gravity Falls... after his mother told him what happened to Ford, the first thing he did was pack his things and go after his brother. After all, no one understands him better than his twin. Sunny day, people happily chatting, blah, blah, blah you see that in every town! It's always what they show you first so you would be stupid enough to move here.

He reached the house, and thought if he should knock. What if Ford didn't want to see them? He would, most likely, send Stan away and keep Mabel as a playing pal for his own son... oh God, he couldn't move on from that fact... his twin... had really lost his virginity? That's beyond Stan's powers to understand. A nerd like him? Oh Gosh, what's going on in this world?

Before he realized what he's doing he knocked hard on his brother's door, then again, and again, and again! Until the door opened by itself, allowing Stan to step in the house. It was cold... it was damn freaking cold. Mabel immediately began to shiver and whimper. He entered what seemed to be a living room and took a blanket on a yellow chair wrapping it around his daughter.

"Ford? Poindexter? It's me... Stan!" he called, but he only heard his voice. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, where could that nerd be? Obviously, not some chick's house, their mother made very clear the fact that his brother doesn't want another relationship after what had brought up to him the last one...

Some muffled sounds echoed around the house. Stan looked up, knowing they must be coming from upstairs. He turned his head to his little girl and saw she was already tired after trying to eat a plush monkey and failing totally. He climbed the stairs ignoring the sounds they made under his feet, the muffles became some weak sobs and Stan's heart started to beat faster. He creaked the door open and something was thrown at him instantly.

"HOW MANY TIMES DID I TELL YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE?" Ford screamed without knowing it was his brother. His scream was full of pain and made Stanley enter again. What ever he prepared to tell as a smart line, it disappeared the second his eyes landed on Stanford. He was curled up into a ball on the floor, the carpet was wet with different patches, Ford has a black eye and the other was crying rivers like a fall. His clothes were ravaged and so was his hair, he didn't smell so good, so Stan figured he didn't even bathe in a few days.

"Poindexter, it's me. Your brother, Stan!" He cried opening his arms, inviting his twin to hug him.

"Go away! Leave me alone and never come back!" Ford hissed through his cries, turning on the other side. He hiccuped trying to hold them back which resulted in him breaking down in hard sobs. He even forgot about Stan. At the moment he didn't even care.

"Hey Poindexter. Only I am allowed to talk to you like that, got it?" His eyes went half close with boredom. He knew his brother was a bit dramatic, but this was already too much. "Whatever it is, don't forget your twin is here to help you" he went to his brother's side and put a hand on his shoulder, kneeling down.

Suddenly a weight thrown at him almost made Stan meet the floor. Ford just wrapped his arms around his brother crying hard on his shoulder, burring his face in the other's neck. "M-My Dipper" he hiccuped through his loud cries, falling again, on his knees this time his tears making many small dark spots on the floor "T-They've t-taken m-my Dipper!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Dipper?" Stanley titled his head to the side not knowing who the name belonged to, then his coin fell, remembering what his mother told him when they spoke on the phone.

"My Dipper. My son. My baby boy" Ford broke down in sobs even harder. As he was on his knees on the floor, resting his weight on his palms, he buried his head between his arms, his forehead touching the floor"They've taken him. Those bastards haven taken my everything when they took my son. Dipper is my everything!"

Stanley suddenly felt a huge sympathy over his twin... just the thought of losing Mabel after he went through so much to have her... He shivered and shook his head powerfully. That thought is too dark even for his mind to form. He left his brother in his messy crying, knowing Ford will still be there when he returns. He needed to get to his pumpkin downstairs, make sure she's okay and take her back to Ford to find out what has the genius done so badly that his son was taken away from him.

He felt it was going to be a long story...

 _*Eight days ago*_

"Well, Dipper, where do you think this one goes?" Ford held up a plastic and colorful triangular form and handed it to his son, around them were a square, a circle, and a rectangular.

The baby stared at it for a few moments before he grinned and stuck it in the exact place.

"Great job buddy!" Ford shouted happily. He took his son in his arms and kissed his birthmark, then he rolled on his back on the carpet and held Dipper up in the air. The baby giggled too.

But soon his giggles turned to coughs. Then the coughs became harsher and he had a hard time in breathing.

"Dipper? Dipper! My boy, what's wrong?" Ford worriedly settled him on the floor. He looked around frantically, feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what to first and what to do faster. He took the baby in his arms and ran to the hall to call for an ambulance, while patting the baby's back repeatedly, to help his breathing get regular.

 _*Six days ago*_

He was allowed to take Dipper home. After giving him some medicine and keeping him under watch for another day, the hospital finally allowed him to take home his baby boy. He put the three month old baby in his safe, protected and brand new crib with tiny adjustments from the genius himself.

"I know you liked better the old one" Ford sighed sadly, watching his discomforted son trying to find some comfort. He added in the new crib a few machines, extremely small, so the boy wouldn't see them and eat them by mistake and choke. He could tell from now that his son had inherited his curiosity and many other things. Those tiny machines are meant to inhale the polluted air in the room and exhale only clear air so Dipper will not have trouble sleeping.

But the moment he laid his son down, the 48 hours spent in the hospital, anxiously waiting for the doctors to tell him anything about Dipper's health, had said their words.

Ford laid on his bed and closed his heavy eyes, falling asleep instantly. When his eyes opened again, he realized he was again in the mindscape because, everything around him was grey. Bill Cipher had been visiting his dreams and always turned them in nightmares. Tonight was not going to be any different.

"Or it might be, six fingers" Bill said appearing from a hole he made on the ceiling. "All you have to do is to say to agree with my terms and we can start the party!"

"If you think I am letting you anywhere near my son, you're deadly wrong!" Ford yelled, pointing at Bill with his finger and glaring hard at the triangle.

Bill only saw it as a joke and laughed in the man's face. He snapped his fingers, and from the floor a thumbstone rose with engraved letters on it. Dipper Pines. The dream demon was leaning on it as if it was nothing, taking an imense pleasure from the scientist's fears and increased heart beat, when he read what's on the thumbstone.

"Listen up six fingers, and listen good" he floated towards Ford and grabbed his ears pulling on them hard. "Your son isn't going to get any better and we both know that. If you still want him around, you're going to need my help. Call me when you're ready to make a deal and save your precious son. After all, what's a small deal compared to your son's life, right? That if you even care about him just as much as you claim you do!" he added the last part with a bored tone, knowing it will blow the scientist's mind.

"WHAT?" Ford was completely shocked, and the rage and anger he felt, could not be described in words. A vein popped up on his neck and it was threatening to explode. His fingers were clenched in his fists. His body was slowly shaking, and his mind was processing those words. "Now you listen up you fucking yellow triangle!"

Ford wasn't the type of person who cursed or used cursing words too often. The only cursing words he knew, he heard from his twin brother. But no one. NO ONE.. NO FUCKING HUMAN OR MAGIC, WILL EVER QUESTION THE LOVE HE HAS FOR HIS SON!

"No one in this world, loves or will ever love, Dipper more than I do! I am his father, and I've been through hell on Earth and back, to have him here with me alive, and I'd do it again without question!" He began to get dangerously close as Bill started to back away, but refusing to show any weakness. He hated how demons were weak against the power of love. No problem. After the baby will be fully grown and Bill will get in possession of his body, the demon will destroy that rule first. Then he will destroy this world full of humans. It should be fun!

No matter what, for such a great achievement, he's willing to wait for that boy to grow up... patience, after all, is a virtue.

"And if you are going to try to approach my son even with the slightest evil intention, I swear to God, I'm going to destroy you even if it's the last thing I will ever do. Did I make myself clear Bill?" He stopped yelling, screaming, and cursing and looked at the demon with a face that said he was deadly serious, and meant every word his mouth spat out.

To his no surprise, he had grown acostumed to the demon's reactions, Bill laughed. But he didn't laugh in Ford's face, which was a little weird, but he still laughed. He laughed until he ran out of breath, that if he was breathing

"I like you" he said wiping away a fake tear from his eye. Ford glared at him in response. "That's why I'm going to help you. You'll thank me later for this" he snapped his finger and blue flames started to surround Dipper. Stanford let out a gasp of shock and tried to run to his son, only to be stopped by a fire wall.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" Ford shouted, but Bill pretended he didn't hear anything. A tornado of blue flames was spinning with Dipper in the middle of it. It was spinning faster and faster until it exploded around the room with green flames, the light was so powerful, the genius was blinded by it for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, the room has returned to its normal color and the only changed thing, was his son, instead of being in his crib, which was now completely destroyed, he was face down on the floor.

Ford immediately ran to his side, picking him up, and watching for any harm on the baby. He sighed in relief. Dipper was fine. Only his spleep was disturbed. His eyes looked tired, he was exhausted. Ford held him against his chest and rocked him. When he turned, the wall was being painted on with red letters.

' _Now you own me. Don't forget it. I surelly won't'_

For a moment he wondered if Bill had really cured his son. Baby Dipper stared at the letters in wonder and he extended his arm as if he wanted to touch the message. Ford turned around and walked away from the room, they were sleeping downstairs tonight.

 _*Three days ago*_

"This is incredible" the doctor muttered "Impossible. He is completely cured." he raised his head to look at Ford "What did you do to him?"

"I simply went to every doctor until I found the right person. Me, I just really love my son even if I am a young parent" he explained seeplishly, he didn't like lying and he wasn't even a good liar, but he tried his best. The doctor nodded, still shocked about how fast the child was cured. He heard this sickness had no antidote or treatment, so the way this baby was healthy again, was beyond his knowledge.

The only thing left to do was to give his permission to the scientific genius, to take home his child. Ford couldn't wait for that to happen, after they left the hospital, he felt so light he could walk on clouds. He was the happiest man on Earth at the moment! He should've trusted Bill earlier! Bill was amazing! He was going to call over Susan, at his place, to tell her the great news! Maybe, even ask about Fiddleford's state...

"Oh dear, I am so happy for you!" she hugged him tightly, as soon as she found out. Just as expected, she was equally happy with Ford "You gave us quite a scare, sweety, didn't you?" she asked Dipper, gently pinching on his chubby cheeks.

"I see so much of you in him" She said looking at the young father.

"So do I." Stanford agreed "I can barely hold my excitement, soon he's turning four months, soon he will start speaking and walking and he might turn out to be a better version of me. And we'll go through all that together. Just me and my son"

"About that..."

Ford turned to look at her curiously, after lowering Dipper on his third new crib. "What's wrong?" now she refused to look at him in the eyes "Susan? You know you can tell me anything, if you need my help, I won't say no." he put his hand on her shoulder to assure her of his words. But when she made the courage to look at him, he was presented with a Susan he had never met before.

"Look dear, I know that after your last relationship, you don't even want to hear about dating a new girl." Ford gulped, heat was slowly rising in his body "And I know our age difference is by ten years, but..." her face was getting really close to his and he didn't know what to do about that "I am no girl, I am a woman. And I've come to love you so much in such a short time. I really love you Stanford Pines"

Her lips were inches away from his. So close and if they were any closer, they'd be... Ford was frozen, he saw her moving, but he found no power to move too. And they were almost touching. Almost. But hard bangings on his door made her back away. And he let out a long breath he did not realize he held. They were so loud, that Dipper woke up and started to cry

"Who are you?" Ford shouted angrily opening the door.

"We've met before Stanford Pines. My name is Cole Hershey! And we are here for you!"

"What? I didn't do anything! I'm innocent! I should be the one threatening you, because you woke up my son, after I just put him to sleep!"

"You are not the one in charge here, Pines!" Cole said glaring at the man before him "After we interrogated every person in Gravity Falls and did some deep research, we found out the only responsible suspect in the McGucket case is you!"

"WHAT? Do you have any proves? How can you think of accusing me of that?" This was going bad... really bad.

"For the last weeks, after you came in town, Fiddleford McGucket was seen only in your presence or on his own, but mostly in yours! And after he spends a day and a night over, at your house, the next day he begins to lose his mind, until he went completely crazy! This is deffinitely rising some questions, not only about the situation, but about you too, Stanford Pines!"

"Me?" he feared they knew about Bill, Susan was thankfully upstairs with Dipper.

"Yes! You! There's something you tried to do on Fiddleford McGucket and it went wrong! Every proof is against you Stanford Pines"

"I repeat. I didn't do anything. I am innocent!"

"You will tell that to the judge !"

"Are you accusing me?!" Ford wanted to strangle that man right then, and right there!

"Your experiment on McGucket failed and you were exposed Pines, you are guilty, there's no way you can get out of this, we have caught you!"

Ford was surprised of his action, when he realized he just laughed in the man's face "Yes, fine, I'll come to the court as soon as I will find myself a lawyer."

"One more thing Pines" Cole smirked bitterly "We were notified, you are having a child. A baby boy of only three months old in such a dangerous place. Just to be sure you won't do anything to that baby, until the trial is over, he will be placed in a centre under the Child Protection care, and you will no longer have parental rights over him"

* * *

 ** _A/N : I apologize for any grammar mistakes, my computer has broken down and from now I will update from my phone_**


	7. Chapter 7

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Ford yelled in rage punching Cole in the face. "I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM!" he tackled the man on the ground and began to hit Cole repeatedly, blinded by rage, as the guards were trying to pull him away. Some of them broke inside the house, and ran upstairs.

"No!" Ford shouted desperately, upstairs were Susan and Dipper! He couldn't lose his son, he just couldn't. Two guards were holding his arms tightly and Cole got away from him, behind the rest of his guards, holding his face in pain.

"Get lost Pines!"Cole shouted "It's over. The baby is coming with us!"

"Only when hell freezes over, I will allow you to take my son!" Ford was struggling hard to escape. He was only seconds away of losing his child. He'd rather die.

"We can't let that baby stay with you" Cole tried to talk to him on a much softer tone "What happened to McGucket was either done by you, or you were implied in it and now he doesn't remember anything. We cannot allow a child to be in such danger. We don't want to risk anything"

Ford as he listened, stopped struggling so hard, until he was not struggling anymore. That man is right... he was both, implied AND the cause his college friend lost his mind. For Fiddleford it's too late... but for Dipper it's not, and as long as his father is around, it will never be too late!

"What happened to McGucket was very unfortunate" he said in a low voice, but the guards tightened their grips on him, because it sounded somehow dangerous. So unlike Ford. "But Dipper is a child. MY child. Do you think I'd harm him? I'm tired... You know, I get tired too, I'm tired of people like you..."

"And what is it that I done so bad?" Cole looked at him suspiciously and curiously in the same time.

"I'm tired of people like you, questioning my love for my son. Just because I'm not the outgoing type, and instead of partying in clubs all day and all night, I like to sit at home and spend some time with my son. " he saw some of them were rolling their eyes, but he said nothing about that "Just because 'I hide away' and McGucket was my room mate in college, that means it is only my fault he went crazy? Believe me, taking care of a baby, doesn't give you enough free time to do it. "

"Then tell us what happened to McGucket" Cole replied "Tell us the truth. And we'll leave you alone with your son, and I give you my word, that we'll never bother you again"

Ford made a decisive pause... it was long and painful... He could either lose his son to the government or tell the truth and keep Dipper. McGucket or Dipper. His friend or his baby boy. McGucket, Dipper. Each passing second was longer than the other, and it was making the decision harder to take.

"Fiddleford is my best friend no matter what. He might be nerdy and awkward most of the time, but he has a heart of gold. I knew it from the moment we met. And I was the happiest and luckiest to have him as a friend, room mate and partner..."

Just then some guards came out with a crying Dipper, but no Susan. Ford got out of the guards' grips and calmly took the baby in his arms "But you don't understand what you are putting me through, because you don't have a child of your own. At least I don't think so. " he shifted the baby on one arm and the free hand from the other arm went to cup his chubby cheek, his fingers gently whipping away the tears. "I love my son with all my heart. He's my life, he's my everything. The reason I get up in the morning with a smile on my face. I gave up my studies and my family to be with him. I will never chose anything over him. And I swear I tell the truth when I say I don't know what happened to McGucket."

Because he really did not know. McGucket just entered the portal by mistake and he went mad. It was simply ilogically. Dipper's crying ceased and became laughter as his father's fingers first whipped his tears then started to tickle him. His most ticklish spot was his stomach, he always laughed with tears when Ford was tickling him there.

The guards watched amazed how the father was interacting with his son. Those ones who were fathers as well, hugged each other and cooed at the pair, or were giving each other tissues to wipe their eyes and blow their noses being deeply touched by the scene before them.

"Pines for some reason I believe you" Cole said in a stern voice "And not because this scene touched my stone heart" he sobbed, accepting a tissue and blowing his nose, then getting his composure back. "Alright guys, let's leave!"

Ford smiled happily, hugging his son to his chest. However, happiness, as it is being said, doesn't last forever. For the genius it didn't last even a minute, someone came to destroy it again. Because that's what people do, destroy other people's happiness out of jealousy and craving for what the other already has and you know you don't have.

"Wait! Stop! He's guilty! I have proves" a voice screamed in fear, the doctor of Gravity Falls came running. He stopped to catch his breath and said between breaths. "He's a maniac" breath "He's crazy" breath "Guilty. Lock him"

"Care to elaborate doctor Kyle?" Cole asked with sudden interest. Ford held Dipper tightly, and very worried.

"This man came to me a few weeks ago with the baby. The baby is suffering of an incurable sickness, and permanent one. And he comes back with the baby for a check up and the baby is completely fine. I've studied this sickness very well. It _doesn't_ have a cure!" he took his time to glare at the young father as he spoke, before turning his attention to Cole. "Please brother! You have to believe me"

"And to think you almost tricked us" Cole said with slow and angry tone, Ford backed away, guessing what was going to happen next. "How dare you experiment on a baby? YOUR OWN BABY? Guys! Take the baby!"

"NO! PLEASE DON'T!" Ford cried as he was being held again and Dipper was roughly ripped out of his grip. The baby started to cry and kick and scream. "DIPPER!" he shouted desperately "PLEASE STOP HOLDING HIM LIKE THAT, IT HURTS HIM"

"Not as much as it hurts you. Did I guess it?" Cole spat as the crying baby was placed in his arms. Dipper screamed louder than he had ever done before as Ford was unsuccessfully trying to get him. He was put in a car and his father watched in horror his son being taken away, all he had managed to get was a black eye for his effort.

He stood there for a few good minutes before he dragged himself upstairs in the attic. His and Dipper's room. He found Susan snoring loudly on the floor and he guessed they must've tricked her with something and it made her fall asleep.

He put his hands on the crib and leaned over it until his forehead was touching it, taking deep shaky breaths, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Just then Susan stopped with snores and gave a long yawn as she woke up.

"Dear are you alright?" she gasped and ran to his side as soon as she saw him.

"They took him" he forced the words out with a level of angerness Susan has never witnessed before. She wanted to hug him hard and tell him that she will always be there for him. She wanted him to know she will be by his side forever... She wanted him to know she'd do anything for him. Anything.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry" she cried hugging him tightly "I promise we'll get him back one way or another"

"We?" Ford turned to her

"We" Susan nodded confidently, however his next words broke her heart in a thousand pieces.

"And what are you exactly sorry for? That you let my son be taken away or that you weren't smart enough to not be tricked by the guards?"

'What?"she whispered with a broken voice

"Were you that desperate to be with me? Was my Dipper such an obstacle between us? Do you even realize that if it wasn't for Dipper we wouldn't have met?" each shouted at her was getting louder and louder, each shout was breaking her even more, each shout was making him even angrier. "If Dipper wasn't born I'd be at my home town with my parents and eventually many years later I would come here!"

"Stanford please, you have to believe me I didn't do it on purpose" she pleades him with teary eyes gripping his arms with her hands

He took her hands off and pushed them away. He glared at her for the first time ever and it was the worst feeling she had ever felt. "Go away" he muttered "Susan, I want you to leave me alone and don't come back for a while... I need to see what to do to get my son back..."

Susan ran out of the house crying her eyes out, and broken hearted. The man she loved just send her away. She was terminated. Ford closed his eyes and took another deep shaky breath before he fell on his knees in tears.

In that night he cried himself to sleep. He just lost his son. The pain in his chest was impossible to describe. This was his hardest night because in all that silence all he could hear were Dipper's screams and him... standing there and doing nothing.

"Hello six fingers" Bill cried cheerfully in the mindscape.

"Bill!" For the only time ever, Ford was happy to see the demon. If he cured Dipper, he can certainly bring him back!

"That's my name. Don't tell me you're already getting too old to remember me" the triangle laughed.

"Bill I don't have time for jokes!" Ford cried urgently "Please! You helped me once, I need your help again!"

"Aww, six fingers is upset" Bill cooed floating to the genius, ruffling his hair, and hugging his head tightly in one arm, he pretended he didn't know why his help was wanted again. "What is the problem? You lost your chemistry set? Don't worry about it anymore, I destroyed it because I was bored and had nothing better to do"

Stanford would curse the yellow triangle, under other circumstances... ,but for now he has to endure all the teasings. He shook his head and got out of Bill's grip.

"Bill! Help me! Dipper. They've taken him, you have to do something!" It was so amusing to watch the human beg for his offspring.

"Well, let me think" Bill scratched his inexistent chin."Nope!"

"What? Why?" Ford's hopes suddenly crushed down...Bill was only joking...right?

"Because you didn't repay me for the old deal. I can't do another one without being sure I get something in return too!" Actually what he did for the author of the journals was more like a favor, but there was no way the genius would know about that.

"Fine! I will do anything just name it" Stanford shouted confidently, Bill was curious how far this man could be pushed for his lovely child.

"Too bad six fingers, there nothing I want and nothing you can give me." He just got the annoying loving father out of the picture, there's no way for the demon to allow the return of that baby. The deal he made with that doctor? Best one in that day!

"Bill, please, there must be something I can do to repay my debt. How about you do it for Dipper? Dipper doesn't own you anything. I do!"

"That's an interesting way to put things, but I'm just gonna say pass. Face it! You lost your son! It happens. One advice? Move on. Or get another son, name him the same, there wouldn't be a difference! Thing is, I can't help you. Sorry, it happens" he began to float away "You are on your own literally six fingers. Your family left you, your son is gone, your only friend went crazy, and for the only woman in this town that would've done anything for you, guess what? She was sent away right by the one she loved! I seriously don't want to be in your skin right now. Bye Stanford Pines!"

"BILL! NO ! WAIT!"

And in that moment, he woke up to reality. He screamed so loud, in the town it was heard as an echo.

"BILL!"


	8. Chapter 8

"So that's what happened" Stanley stated after hearing his brother's story. Not the best way to reunite after being apart for so long, he thought. And, dare he say, his story was quite funny, because the same things happened to Ford that happened to him. He got a girlfriend (biggest wonder in the world if you ask him), got laid with her (even bigger wonder how the nerd managed lose his virginity at nineteen, Stanley thought he was going to die a virgin), got her pregnant (well... he was a beginner, it was obvious he was going to make a mistake) and now he's having a baby to take care of (that until the baby was taken away). The only difference he could see was that he had a daughter, while Ford had a son.

Now a thing that makes it all creepy? His son was born on August 31st, Ford said the hour and minute, but he didn't listen. Anyway, it was somewhere around midnight, while Mabel was born on September 1st, very early in the morning. Yeesh. Stanley realized if their father was here, he would say... he's not impressed.

"Hey poindexter? Got some food around here? I'm really hungry, since I traveled all the way from Pennsylvania after mom told me you were here. You owe me a meal at least, you know?" he said shifting Mabel from his lap. Ford was sitting on the other side of the room with his head in his hands, thinking hard of a way to get his son back.

"Alright, fine, Stanley, do what you want!" he could care less about what his twin was doing at the moment. "The kitchen is downstairs, everything you need is there."

"I hope you've got some decent food" Stanley mumbled picking Mabel in his arms, heading to the door.

"Wait!" he slowly turned around, hearing his brother's so urgent voice. "Umm... I know it's a bit weird to ask you, but..." Stanley's heart rose in hope. Could Ford propose to sail around the world in a boat as they wanted when they were children? Ford was rubbing the back of his head nervously "While you eat, can I stay with your daughter?" here goes London's bridge and Stan's hopes. His face didn't show anything and he simply gave Mabel to his brother and stormed downstairs to eat something.

"Urgh" the genius groaned laying his niece down on the bed, kneeling before her "You're so different from my son, but I am drawn to you too. You remember me so much of Stanley already" he smiled at her. His niece was his brother entirely. Just like himself with his son. He sighed and looked down. When he looked back at his niece, he couldn't help but chuckle. The sounds she was making, her smiley face, her chubby cheeks, her pink clothes, everything about her made him smile. She wasn't his son, but he was sure if they were to meet they would get along very well. Actually they would complete each other in everything... just like him and his twin.

"You're tired huh?" he asked her even if she couldn't understand him yet, seeing she was yawning. Even when she was yawning she was incredibly cute. "Don't worry, your uncle is going to take care of that". He tucked her under the covers and only after that he laid beside her. He was going to try this sleeping method with his son, but...

Mabel seemed to react well, because her eyes closed soon. Ford didn't realize how tired he was until now, since his baby boy was taken away from him, he hardly got to do anything in the house, because everything reminded him of his son. Slowly he moved away, so he wouldn't disturb her sleep, and first thing he did was to change his clothes, brush his teeth and take shower. He really needed it, psychically and physically. When he returned to the attic, to check on his niece, he saw Stanley sleeping next to her, an arm wrapped around her protectively.

Ford smiled for the first time in a while. He never thought he would see his brother like that. He thought he was going to knock up a poor girl at some point and he will simply run away claiming he was drunk or it was a bet. Anything is possible with Stanley Pines! But no! Stanley proved him the otherwise and took full care of the baby girl, Ford was impressed... and proud... at least, Stanley could keep his daughter with him and damn it, he's been moving around the country for God knows how long!

Ford was incapable to do such thing in a stable place like Gravity Falls. He remembered Cole saying something about McGucket that he forgot everything? How was that possible? He silently left Stan and Mabel to have their rest, and went to investigate that. After all, it was really hard to sleep without his son by his side.

"Fiddleford? It's me, Stanford!" he called when he reached his house and entered the already open garage, he knew how much Fiddleford loved to work in his garage. "I need to talk to you about something!"

"YELLOW!" Fiddleford yelled loudly, appearing from nowhere, making Stanford scream a little. "Stanford Filbrick Pines, my old pal!" he shouted again, hugging Ford "How's life buddy? For me it's great! They let me come home! Isn't that greater than a goat in a disco ball?" that remark was so weird, the normal man between the two, chose not to answer it. "How is Big Dipper? I haven't seen him on the sky in a while"

"Fiddleford listen to me, I came here to ask you something very important" Ford moved away a little. Just bringing up his son made him cringe.

"Sure, anything for my best friend, shot it out, but don't shot my head I still need it, or my dog would have to bite other parts of my body" the genius titled his head to the side. First, McGucket doesn't have a dog, he's allergic and afraid of them. Second, God damn it, what exactly did the portal do to him?

"What is the last thing you remember we did together? The portal? Do you remember anything of it?" time to face the truth, or whatever it is being said.

"I don't remember anything, including my full name!" Fiddleford shouted with a huge grin "I wanted to forget something that bothered me very much and I designed this!" he showed a weird thing that looked like a toy gun "You just introduce what you want to forget, aim for the target, and shot! It's amazing! I feel better than ever!"

"I can see that very well" Ford said sarcastically.

"You should try it! I did it on myself and I am perfectly fine!" he spread his arms widely and grinned like a lunatic. That's when Ford had enough. He wanted to leave the place when an idea struck his mind.

"Do you mind if I borrow that?" Fiddleford started to play with a raccon (actually to get beaten by it) so he wasn't paying attention anymore. The thing is, both of them had no idea from where that raccon came. The six fingered man didn't want to waste his time about such things. He had a more important thing to do. So... he left his friend's house and his friend, not having the intention to return too soon or ever. He walked away and took the path to meet one of the two people he had in his mind.

First he went to the address he had taken from Fiddleford. He took his time to get there. He had no intention to rush or anything, knowing it might cause suspicions. They were going to pay! They were all going to pay! He will show them all that he's no person to be messed with! Taking his son was the drop that filled the glass and made it pour over. When the destination was reached, he knocked on the door like he was visiting an old friend. He heard footsteps and stepped in the dark.

"Who is it?" Cole stepped outside, his eyes searching for the person who dared to disturb him. Ford was quick in his moves, writting down the names Ford Pines and Dipper Pines, then pointing the gun at the man who separated him and his child. Time to face the truth of Fiddleford's invention. Stanford pressed the trigger and the ray hit Cole immediately. Wanting to test the result himself, Ford stepped out of the shadows.

"Excuse me for bothering you at this hour sir" he said casually, like he had done nothing. Like he did not know the person he was talking to. "But do you know if a certain man named Stanford Pines is living around here?" he held his breath waiting for an answer.

"I am afraid I don't know anybody with this name sir" Cole shook his head. Ford was dying of happiness on the inside, but he wanted to test it more before he jumped to conclusions.

"Are you sure? I heard he is living on his own with his son, here in Gravity Falls"

"No..." Cole paused before saying, thinking hard if he really heard these names before "My apologies, but I don't know anything about them. I am sorry I could not help you, you should try on other houses, you might have more luck."

"I'll do exactly as you told me" Ford smiled "Thank you for your time and for helping me, I'll be on my way. Good night" he turned around left much quicker then when he came. He was squealing so bad on the inside! That machine worked! He can get his baby boy back, by simply applying the paper of adoption! He was so happy, he could let Stanley make fun of him for an entire day! But he couldn't let it get in his head already, he had one more thing to do before that.

Next and final stop? Susan's house. This time he kept the quick pace. The sooner it was done, the better. To say she was shocked when she saw him at her door, was little compared to what she was feeling. Her heart was pounding in her chest, did he come to apologize for the way he treated her? Is he really going to do that? Of course she was going to accept his apology! She loves him so much, she can't be upset with him for too long!

In her opinion, the wench he dated last time, did not know how to cherish what she had. Stanford was incredible in everything! What normal woman wouldn't want him as husband? Now that woman had lost both, an incredible man who was willing to stay by her side no matter what, and a wonderful baby boy who was the splitting image of his father. Her loss, Susan's win.

"I'm sorry Susan" he said with hard words. There, said it! Susan's eyes went wide with forming tears and a great smile on her face. "You must understand that for my son I'm willing to do anything... anything..." he wrote again the words Ford Pines and Dipper Pines and shot Susan. He was thankful he missed her dropping smile or he would've broken down. He carried her to her bed and covered her with a blanket he found around the room. When she will wake up in the morning, she will remember nothing of them.

After he returned the gun to Fiddleford, he went straight home, aching for a good night sleep. On his way he bought a new cartoon of milk since he hasn't bothered to renew the food products after his boy was taken. His niece will surely be hungry in the morning. For the next day Stanford Pines had a day full of plans. First, spend some time with brother and getting to know better his niece. Second fill the papers for Dipper's adoption then take him home and together with Stan and Mabel, they will leave Gravity Falls and sail around the world as he and his brother wished to do when they were younger, didn't think he forgot about that, did you? Third, and final thing, destroy the portal to banish Bill from this world forever and ever.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: From now on, I will update much faster than I used to. Why? Because I'm entering a writing contest and my story needs to have at least 40K words. Ehh, I have a lot of work to do, huh? With this, I take my chance, to thank again sabinaNY, who send me the message, telling me about the contest. By the way, I plan to enter with Snow Storm. Enjoy the chapter, I'm done talking! This chapter is going to be much longer than the others, because the first part of the story officially ends with this chapter.**_

He decided to sleep downstairs so he wouldn't bother his brother or his niece, for him it still was a wonderful thing how that baby girl managed to change his brother in more ways than one. She was fantastic.

He was very tired after last night, both physically and emotionally. It was hard for him to see his friends for the last time probably, but he has to admit he had lots of fun when he erased Cole's memory.

"Poindexter?" Stan's voice rang in his ear, shaking him awake "Get up! I need something and I'm sure you have it! I would get it myself from the store, but I'm too lazy"

"What is it?" Ford groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was never sleeping on a that chair again! He hated to do it, but he didn't tell Stan about Bill or that there's any magic existent in this town. And he couldn't come out through the vending machine like nothing was wrong. Still, he hated that yellow chair. So much...

"Do you have any diapers around the house?" Ford groaned again, he led Stanley to a wardrobe where he held all Dipper's things, clothes, toys, and everything else. There were so many things, Stan even raised an eye brow, and he thought his brother couldn't surprise him with anything. Ford took a pack of diapers and gave it to his brother, before he locked back the wardrobe. He could be one changing his baby right now, if he would've known a better way to keep his son with him.

With a deep sigh, he rested his forehead against the closed wooden his brother was again going on a high emotional level, Stan went by his side. Just to be there for him if he couldn't ease the pain, he told himself. He loved his brother more than anything, and he knows he'd destroy the world if someone wanted to take his Mabel. Many times he wondered why did they end up like this? Disowned by their family, left by their girls, single fathers with no job and no permanent place to stay.

"Poindexter" his voice was above a whisper, he had seen this before, when he took Mabel, first week without her and Carla was already going crazy. Giving Mabel to her for a few days, he wanted to hang himself. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I need him Stanley!" he cried, scratching the wood with his nails. Stan gently removed his hands and hugged his brother.

"Come on, let it all out" he soothed, rubbing his twin's back. He remembers he did the same with Carla, and it worked.

"I need him" Ford sobbed in his shirt, wrapping his arms tightly around his twin. "He's my life Stanley. I can't live without him!"

"It will be okay, poindexter, you'll see. We'll get my nephew back, we'll show them what the Pines Twins can do for their children"

Ford wished God would hear his brother right now. Because he had no idea what he'd do next, if he couldn't get his baby back. The only reason of why he wasn't running to the Adoption Centre his son was placed in, was quite simple. Cole just lost his memory of him and his son, it would be impossible for the authorities to discover why did that happen. But if he showed up, just right after it happened, that would make him the principal suspect. He knew he had to wait, and he hated it. However he would show up, soon after it would be announced on the news.

And with Stanley in the house, he had absolutely nothing to do for the entire day. That until a little bit later...

"Ford I need to go out, can you watch Mabel?" he was currently in the kitchen preparing breakfast for himself. Soon, his brother came holding his daughter. "She needs some new toys, she already broke the old ones and she got bored of the rest. She just ate, so she needs to sleep right now. It's up to you to change her if something happens." Ford found himself agreeing with these terms. He took his niece in his arms, explaining to his brother the stores he could find baby toys. He couldn't go out just yet. It would be too obvious.

"You're really adorable, you know that?" Ford told her with a smile after Stanley left. "I can see why my brother loves you so much, and you're very close of age to my son... which is very weird... ,but never mind, may I say, you would've gotten along with my boy pretty well, if you two were to meet."

He sighed and held her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, just the way Dipper used to. Only that Dipper wasn't leaving behind any saliva. But he wasn't mad at her for that. She only wanted to play. "You are so different from my son, I know I already said that, but I can't help the remark... I-I miss him so much" her palms went to each of his cheeks, sticking out her tongue at him, giving him more of her saliva. Ford laughed. Stanley was right to adore her.

Through the window, suddenly a sparkling fly entered. Ford knew it was coming from the forest, where all the magic was hidden. Where he cleverly hid his journals so no one will ever built the portal again, after Stanford will destroy it tonight. Bill needs to be banished. And the journals need to be all at one place to have the portal to work. He was really a genius! But he buried his third journal, only after he managed to write about Fiddleford's brand new society and many, many warnings about Bill.

Whoever might find his journals... ,God watch over him, or over her... Bill has tricked him. Who knows what he would do to other people? While being far in his thoughts, Mabel watched with big eyes the sparkling fly and tried to get her grip on it. It almost made Ford drop her, but it was all worth it, because she caught it in her tiny fist and brought it closer to her body.

"So you like shiny and sparkling things, huh?" He looked out through the window. No one knew the secrets and secret places of Gravity Falls better than him. Stanley wasn't coming any time soon. He might take out his niece, only to the safest places, and show her some of the magical things. With that thought in his mind, he followed his instinct and went out. He felt so happy to spend some time with his niece, it made him be less anxious about getting his son back and more confident that he WILL get his son back. He couldn't wait for those two to meet.

Even if she just got to know him, the six fingered man, realized that the baby girl was already attached to him, just as he was to her. He showed her all the unharming shiny and sparkling things and she loved him. He even got to show her an unicorn (from a respectful distance, he dealt with them before and Mabel doesn't need to know that), and she covered him in wet kisses... as much as a baby could kiss.

But when they returned home, they realized they've lost track of time. Mabel was barely keeping her eyes open shaken out completely of her program (eat, sleep, play, things like that), Ford was hungry, and Stanley... was angry.

"Where the hell have you been?" he growled. Ford shushed him and pointed to Mabel.

"I'll explain it all after I put her to sleep" he walked upstairs and gently let her down on the bed. Dipper's crib was locked away in the wardrobe. He covered her with a blanket and kissed her head. He waited another five minutes, humming softly a lullaby he used to hum to his son, until she closed her eyes and fell in a deep slumber.

"I've taken Mabel out for a walk." he said simply after he returned to his brother.

"And changed her every time, and fed her, and played with her for the rest of the day, after I almost got her used to a new program" Stanley continued with an icy tone. Lucky for both, Stanford ignored him, being concerned over other things.

"Stanley I have something to show you. Something you won't believe." he realized the first journal can't stay here. At least one must be away. The dangers are getting closer. He can feel Bill somewhere in the Mind Scape burning with angerness. He has to do something and quickly!

"Look, I've been around the world, okay? Whatever it is, I'll understand." And a few minutes later when he was standing in the portal room... "There is _nothing_ about this I understand."

Ford proceeded to explain, even if his brother didn't get it or didn't listen to him "It's a trans-universal gateway, a punched hole through a weak spot in our dimension. I created it to unlock the mysteries of the universe. But it could just as easily be harnessed for terrible destruction. That's why I shut it down and hid my journals, which explained how to operate it. There's only one journal left. And you are the only person I can trust to take it. " he gave his brother the journal and looked at him in the eyes "I have something to ask of you. You remember our plans to sail around the world on a boat?" Stanley's face began to twist with happiness. It was really happening! "Take this book, get on a boat, and sail as far away as ya can! To the edge of the Earth! Bury it where no one can find it!" Stan's smiled dropped instantly and was replaced with anger.

"That's it?!" he shouted indignantly "I come to see you and the next day, you tell me to get as far away from you as possible!?" Ford wasn't going to get away with this!

"Stanley, you don't understand what I'm up against! What I've been through!" Ford was desperately trying to make his brother see things the way he does.

"No, no. You don't understand what I've been through!" He felt he had enough, his nerd of a brother is going to pay one way or another "I've been to prison in three different countries! I once had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car! You think you've got problems? I've got a mullet, Stanford! Meanwhile, where have you been? Living it up in your fancy house in the woods! Selfishly hoarding your money, because you only care about yourself." and just then he had to push things over "And look where it has all got you? Where is your son Stanford? WHERE IS HE?"

"I'm selfish? I'm selfish, Stanley? How can you say that after costing me my dream school?!" he could have so much more than he had now "I'm giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life and you won't even listen!" how such a low life like his brother got through life was beyond his understanding "And don't you dare talk about my son, when you can't even take care properly of your daughter!"

Stan was boiling. That's it! He tackled his brother on the ground and punched him in the jaw "Don't you dare to bring my cupcake in this!" he growled dangerously "And listen to this, you want me to get rid of this book? Fine, I'll get rid of it right now!" he got off his brother, and pulled out a lighter.

"No! You don't understand!" Ford would never forgive his brother if he destroyed his life's work. He grabbed the journal from the maniac he used to call brother, or worse! ... best friend...

Stan took it back and grinned victoriously "You said you wanted me to have it so I'll do what I want with it!" Ford tackled Stan, then attempted to for the journal, but Stan tripped him. Ford ran after him. In all this madness the portal was turned on.

"You left me behind, you jerk! It was supposed to be us forever, you ruined my life!"

"You ruined your own life!" Ford kicked him into the side of the control panel, branding the symbol onto his back. Stan screamed in pain and fell on the floor. Ford the moment he forgot about the fight when he saw his brother being hurt. Stan took advantage of it and punched Ford, who stumbled backward and tripped over the lever. The portal was starting to get more power.

"Some brother you turned out to be. You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well then YOU CAN HAVE THEM." He angrily shoves Ford back into the portal light, who started to get sucked into it. Now he realized he went too far "Whoa, whoa, hey, what's going on?" he didn't mean it "Hey, hey, Stanford-, what do I do?!" he was panicking and heart racing, as his brother was disappearing.

"Stanley! Stanley!" there was only one thing he wished from the bottom of his heart "FIND MY DIPPER! STANLEY! FIND HIM AND BRING HIM HOME!" He threw Journal 1 at Stan and disappeared into the portal.

Fifteen years later, everything is changed...


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: An, in between chapter, between the Portal, and the fifteen years that passed. Showing how Stanley dealt with the loss of his brother. I promise the next chapter WILL be fifteen years later, with teen Mabel and Dipper and it will blow your mind. I am sorry this chapter is short. I just couldn't help it.**_

A flash of white engulfs everything. It was too powerful for Stan to keep his eyes open. When it fades, Stan is laying on the floor. He is hurt pretty bad and the mark on his back is burning him so badly, but he doesn't seem to care of it at the moment.

"Stanford?" he mutters, finding the power to get up and stand still. At the same moment, his brother's glasses fall on the floor, signaling somehow it was too late to anything. Stan, still, ran hopefully ran to the portal. He could turn this thing on again and bring his brother back, it's easy right? Not...

He pounds on the side of the portal, somewhere in his mind he believes his brother can hear his pleading screams. Or he's pulling a prank or something "Stanford, come back! I-I DIDN'T MEAN IT!". But the portal turns off... and Stanford is gone forever.

Stan ran to the lever and tried to pull it, again, and again, and again, but to no avail. "I just got him back! I can't lose him again!" he pleaded to whoever might hear him. God, Jesus, angels, anyone. "Ah, come one! STANFORD!" his voice echoes into the portal. Still nothing.

He fell on his knees before the portal. Tears falling freely "I lost him." he sobbed, the pain in his chest being unbearable "Stanford please!" he looks at the portal his tears glistening in his eyes "I swear I will never make fun of you again! I swear we will find your son and bring him back, together! Just come back! STANFORD COME BACK!" Stanford wasn't coming back...

Many scary questions were running in his head, one after another. Is he dead? Alive? In some distant galaxy? He gasps suddenly when he remembers something. The journals! They must have all the answers! He grabs the Journal 1 and flips it, until it reaches the back, where it says 'continued in Journal 2'. He cursed everything and everyone! Ford, himself, had said he hid the journals...

He dragged himself upstairs in tears... how could he do that? It was an accident! He didn't mean to vanish his brother... first the project and now the person... he runs a hand on his face. He couldn't let his daughter see him this weak. She doesn't deserve to carry on his burdens or his life style. Before he knows it, he grabs the phone and forms Carla's number.

"Hello?" her beautiful voice answers. It's all he wants to hear at the moment.

"Carla? It's me" he responds with a rough voice, wiping his tears away. She doesn't need to know. It could only put her in danger.

"Stan? What are you doing up so late? Is everything ok? Is there something wrong with Mabel?" she seems to be worried about him, which is a relief. At least Carla, denying it all she wanted, still cares for the man who knocked her up and ran away with the baby.

" _Our_ sugar plump is fine" when he said 'our' his heart warmed up. That damned hippie thistle downe will never take his place! Stan will always be the FIRST _man_ Carla was with, and had a baby (that if somewhere in the future she decides she wants another one). He will always be Mabel's daddy and Carla's first. No one will ever take that from him. "Actually, I was wondering... I've kept her with me for too long, and then I've thought of you, and I wanted to ask you... do you want to spend some time with her?"

A squeal of happiness from the other side, tells Stan everything he needs to know. "Yes! Yes! Oh, I can't wait, we're going to have our girls day! Me and my baby girl! I'm so excited!"

Stan actually managed a small smile. He doesn't plan to stay away from his daughter for too long. Just enough to find the journals and bring back his brother. "My girls, finally together" he didn't realized he said that until he heard it himself.

"Yes Stan" Carla giggled "We'll always be your girls" She has no idea how much she's taking his pain away. She really hasn't... He didn't sleep much in that night. Too many things happened. Too many feelings kept him from closing his eyes. And something more. Nightmares... for years his brother's final words will haunt him, he's sure. ' _Help_ _me_ _Stanley_!' ' _FIND_ _MY_ _DIPPER_ , _STANLEY_! _FIND_ _HIM_ _AND_ _BRING_ _HIM_ _HOME!_ '

After Carla came to take Mabel, Stan's first thing to do, now that he had the time for it, was to run to the Adoption Centre. He was searching the entire house for a picture. He had never got to see his nephew so he has no idea what he looks like. "Ford you idiot" he cursed out loud "You claim you're adoring your boy and you don't have a single picture of him? How am I supposed to get him back?" he took from downstairs to upstairs and searched in every room and every corner. Nothing.

Then he remembered "The wardrobe!" he slapped his hand against his forehead, blaming his brain for not thinking about it earlier. He rushed to the living room and forced the locker, but it was too old and rusty. Naturally Stan had to break it, and when he did, everything that was inside fell, creating something like a small mountain.

And on top of everything a crib spinning toy fell and instantly began to sing. It was a lullaby for putting babies to sleep.

For more than a minute the only sound in the living room and the house, was the music produced by the crib spinning toy, which now was broken from the fall. Stan couldn't keep his eyes off it, no matter how much he tried. "Oh Ford..."

He cried again in that day. Then, he finally decided to go with what he had (just the name), he had to try! He wanted so bad to make his brother's wish come true and have the baby back in the house. He couldn't let his brother down again. He couldn't!

He drove to the other side of the city, where his brother said he would go. (The Shack is located at West, so the other side of the city means as far as East goes) When he reached the destination, his jaw dropped in shock. The Adoption Centre of Gravity Falls was closed, and the building is soon to be destroyed, to build a car cemetery instead...

He cried for the second time in that day, being unable to do something that is very important for his brother. And at night, after he talked to Carla on the phone, where she spoke hours and hours of what a great day she and their daughter had, he cried for the third and final time in that day. Because if he didn't existed, his family wouldn't be so broken. His girls are far away from him and his parents don't want to hear from him. He chose to stay in Gravity Falls and keep trying to turn the portal back on. But without the other journals, it was all in vain.

He went for the first time in the town and without driving through it, only when he ran out of food.

"Just the bread there, stranger? That'll be 99 cents." the old lady told him with a smile. He looked into his pockets and saw he had only a packet of sugar, a paper clip and a peso. He was broke...

"Hey, that's no stranger." a strange woman's voice chirped in "That must be the mysterious science guy that lives in the woods!" that woman was somewhere in her thirties and wore too much blue eye make up if you ask him. They all believed he was Stanford...

"I've heard strange stories about that old shack." one said

"Yeah! Mysterious lights and spooky experiments." another one jumped in

"Gosh, I'd pay anything to see what kind of shenanigans you get up to in there." that, actually caught his attention. Maybe it was because of his desperate need of money, since, twenty minutes later, he was leading a tour into the house. The woman with the too much eye make up, had her eye burned from a weird machine. For Stan it didn't matter, he was sure it will be gone by morning. He assured her it was no way permanent.

After he managed to get the tour done and realized something... he can't leave until he brings Ford back. If he couldn't find his boy, he could bring the father back... he needs to stay. He needs to stay and find the other journals!

Soon the Murder Hut was born! A tourist trap, which overcharges the not so lucky tourists with cheap things. He was quite shocked. For once in his life, people were actually buying what he was selling. Later it was renamed the Mystery Shack. It had a better fit.

He finally found something he was good at... , but there is something else has to do, in order for his plan to become accomplished. Until his brother comes back, the old him will be dead. Nobody seems to know Ford, in the city. And Carla won't know a thing, since she knew him as simply 'Stan' for her entire life. Neither does she know, that he has a twin brother... it was better this way... he still thinks that it's better this way...

The next day, it was all over the newspapers... Stan Pines was officially dead. Dead in a car crash. Not that anybody cared...

Fifteen years later, nothing was the same.


	11. Chapter 11

_***Fifteen Years Later***_

 _ ***Mabel Pines's POV* (Portrayed by Nina Dobrev, because I want too, and I think she's a perfect fit for older Mabel)**_

I was smiling so much it hurt, but I didn't care. My mom finally allowed me to spend my summer with my dad in Gravity Falls! AAAH!

"Sorry, that's me squealing of happiness" I grinned to the driver, who got a little scared of me, after my sudden outburst

But seriously my face hurts, gotta stop smiling! Argh, but I can't! Oh my God, I can't believe I'm going to spend some time with my daddy! YEY! I hardly got to see him through the years. He's always busy at the Mystery Shack... that place is so cool... even if my mom hates it, I think it's cool.

But I can't bad mouth him, he's a great dad. Only, ONLY, if he was just a tiny, bit, less overprotective... Last time I was there, I was thirteen because mom wanted a vacation with her fiance(too much hippie and blond hair on that guy if you ask me) and there was a boy... Robbie, was his name? Or Collin? No, Collin is the rat in the house my dad tries to kill for three years, but he can't because every time he sees Collin, he lets out a girly scream and jumps on anything that's close by. The table, the couch, me sometimes...

Anyway, when he tried to kiss me in the shop, my dad showed up out of nowhere and chased him with a gun around the house. I think Robbie even at this moment, does not know the gun was just a toy gun that was in the shop for selling. Ehh. You can't have everything, right? That, if your name isn't Mabel Olivia Pines (middle name comes from my mom a year after I was born. Seems like my dad stole me at my birth and refused to give me back for a while... you gotta love that guy)

And then the rest of my life until now, I've spend it with mom and her fiance, coming to see my dad only during holidays and rarely in summer vacations. I really don't like mom's fiance. No matter how much I try to like him, I can't and I won't. My dad is my dad and he will always be my goofy partly old man.

So when mom told me I can go to stay with my dad (after one school year of constant pleadings), I jumped in happiness like five minutes. And here I am now, on a bus, on my way to Gravity Falls! I have no doubt this is going to be the best summer of my life. It's the first time in my life me and my dad get to spend more than a week together. And now we have a whole summer! Here I am smiling again so much it hurts... I think I will need a doctor soon.

"Final stop guys" the driver said, then he was looking at me through the small mirror "You too annoying little girl" I gave him another ear piercing squeal of happiness, which I think it left him deaf.

"DADDY!" I screamed and jumped off the bus when we arrived, right in my dad's arms. I knew he would catch me, he always does. And I knew that he would be waiting for me, he always does.

"Sugar pie!" he exclaimed back. He always has this kind of nicknames for me, rarely using my name, most times when I'm in trouble for something. I'm happy to see neither him or me have changed their attitudes. That's what brought me and my father close in the first place. Our special weirdness that we like to call 'personality'. We chatted as we went back home and he said he will leave me to unpack, while he's out with some tourists. He had transformed his house into a tourist trap he called "The Mystery Shack." The real mystery was why anyone came.

Cool! There's a goat in my room!

"Hey, friend" I giggled, holding out my arm as the goat chewed my sleeve "Oh! Yes, you can keep chewing on my sweater." I laughed patting his or her head. I have a crazy obsession with sweaters, I'm always wearing one, like right now! It's really cute, pink with a shooting star. Knitting sweaters always calms me when I'm angry. It became a habit my mom just didn't understand, and my dad shrugged it off, probably thinking if he could get money out of sweaters. Seriously people, sweaters are the future! WEAR THEM!

I chose to stay in the attic. I don't know why, but I really like that room more than the rest. Though, I wonder why there are two beds, when I'm the only one who's staying here... eh, whatever. I unpacked my things, stuck my posters on the walls, played with the goat, searched for Collins who seems to be nowhere in the room, then I decided to go downstairs at the shop.

"Hey Wendy, it's been some time since we last saw each other" I spoke to a twelve year old red headed girl. She was really nice and cool. In the future I bet she's going to be attracting many boys. We've first met when she was eight and I was eleven. Good memories from that day dudes! But don't ask why we were found together by our dads at the police office... just don't.

She smiled when she heard my voice, turning around to see if it's really me. I smiled back at her as she ran from her brother and the group my dad was leading, wrapping her arms around my waist, because that's how high she could go. Man, I love being taller and older!

"Hey hambone!" I knew that sweet voice too. "It's been like two years since you last came here" Yup, you heard him right, my mom doesn't let go of me that easily.

"Soos!" we bumped fists making explosion sounds. It was our personal 'hand shake'. Soos is such a cool guy, random, but cool. Somehow he remembers me of me. "Where are you going?"

He fixed his hat with a solemn look. "Mister Pines needs something from the city, and I'll get it even if I have to eat my shirt!" he always had felt something towards my dad, like my dad was also his dad or something... and my dad being his normal ignorant, selfish and cheap type, never got to pay Soos the attention Soos wanted. Well, with Mabel P. here, things will change!

"Cool!" I exclaimed. Man, I use that word a lot... cool! "Can I come? I want to see the city"

"Sure! Maybe we can stop for a snack too"

"Wendy, do you want to join us?"

"Yes!" the little red haired girl said. Seems like she was willing to do anything to get away from her brothers... I wonder if they are really that bad...hmmm... Whatever, we got in the golf cart Soos had and we drove to the city. Damn, the town is beautiful as always. I told you already I loved this city ? It has everything you need. I wish for Piedmont (the city where I live with my mom) would be like Gravity Falls.

When we stopped, Soos told us to wait there and that he will be fast. I didn't have time to wonder what was Soos buying from the market for my dad, because I began to hear music, from a very far place. It had a weird rhythm, like music these days, but mixed with an unique kind of recipe. Like waffles with sparkles! One of Mabel's delicious recipes! I felt Wendy starting to panic, as the music was getting louder and closer to us. Many people stopped at their places, listening to that music.

"What's happening?" I asked myself. Why were people staring at each other? Why they all stopped at the same time in their place, like frozen? And I'm not talking about the movie Frozen! Ohh Olaf. If you were here, I'm sure you would know the answer!

"They're coming!" someone from behind me said. I just couldn't help, but look at him. Who's coming? I turned back to the sound of the loud music, and from the corner of the streets three people showed up first, dancing on the beat. Two boys and one girl, the girl who was between the boys, kept walking straight, while the boys took off dancing in different directions. Behind them was a van and another boy on the top of the van.

 _ **They say I'm trouble**_

 _ **They say I'm bad**_

 _ **They say I'm evil**_

 _ **And that makes me glad**_

The girl sang smirking and licking her lips proudly, the van opened and two people came out, both took off in different directions. I noticed the girl had light brown skin and short purple hair with a pink highlight in front of her left ear. She wears a purple and white shirt with a purple skirt, light purple leggings, and decorated black boots, along with two black earrings.

 _ **A dirty no-good**_

 _ **Down to the bone**_

 _ **Your worst nightmare**_

 _ **Can't take me home**_

I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized Robbie is one of the boys. He sang the words smirking and I'm pretty sure he had not seen me yet.

 _ **So I've got some mischief**_

 _ **In my blood**_

 _ **Can you blame me?**_

 _ **I never got no love**_

The girl went to Robbie and cupped his cheek as she sang these words. I have to admit they are pretty good! They've got my attention too. Only now I saw the other boy who was with Robbie, he has dark skin, brown hair, a stubble, and a dark aqua green and white cap, a small amount of chin hair and big eyebrows. He wears a black shirt, with a melting skull on it and blue jeans and black shoes. He also has many tattoos on his arms and wears black stub earrings with a tiny bit of white. That boy sang the next words.

 _ **They think I'm callous**_

 _ **A low-life hood**_

 _ **I feel so useless**_

 _ **Misunderstood**_

They are really, really good. They've got everybody's attention. No one is doing anything else besides watching them.

 _ **Mirror, mirror on the wall**_

 _ **Who's the baddest of them all?**_

 _ **Welcome to my wicked world, wicked world**_

The boy on top of the van sang these words with a very twisted grin on his face, looking at every person with his eyes, moving his head in the same time like a broken creepy puppet. It was freakish. When his eyes reached mine, I shivered involuntary. I don't know why, but at the same time I felt a connection between me and him. He was dressed with a white shirt and a crucifix around his neck, black jeans and white shoes, with a red and black checkered shirt wrapped around his waist. He looked younger than the rest of them all. He has messy brown hair and brown eyes just like me. He looked about my age too... To be honest, out of the four them, he seems to be most interesting to me. Suddenly he jumped from the van, landing on the street, and all four of them danced and sang the chorus.

 _ **I'm rotten to the core, core**_

 _ **Rotten to the core**_

 _ **I'm rotten to the core, core**_

 _ **Who could ask for more?**_

 _ **I'm nothing like the kid next—like the kid next door**_

 _ **I'm rotten to the (core), I'm rotten to the (core)**_

 _ **I'm rotten to the core.**_

I have to admit that too. Not only out of them all he's the most interesting one, but he's the best dancer too. The others seem to repeat what they've seen and learned, but he's really feeling the moves. He's amazing. The music suddenly ended and they ran back in the van and they were soon out of the sight. Oh my god! When I wanted to see more, they leave! People began to clap loudly and whistle and say how great they were! I can only agree with them.

"Wendy why were you so scared?" I asked leaning to her while clapping "They were just some street dancers who gave us an awesome show!"

"They were just distracting you!" she shouted closing her eyes, stamping her foot on the ground. I stopped clapping...what?..."The two boys who got out of the van were stealing from every market, while the others were distracting everyone with their dancing! I can't believe you and nobody else haven't noticed that!"


	12. Chapter 12

"They did what?" Mabel shouted at the younger girl in shock. How could she have missed that? Okay, maybe she's missing it when the teacher is boring, or when her mother tells her to clean her room and she forgets because she's looking at pictures with boys, and gets taken away. But that? Pff, there's no way...

"They always do that, people aren't just smart enough to figure it out" Wendy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You know if they were paying just a little bit of attention to what's going on around them, we would be on a total different level today. Someone needs to catch these guys once and forever" She turned to Mabel, expecting the older girl to say something and agree with her, but she was too busy playing with a butterfly that was flying in circles around her making her giggle. Wendy slapped her forehead in frustration... just a moment ago she said something about paying just a tiny bit of attention...

"Sorry Wendy, I got distracted" Mabel said, letting the butterfly rest on her fingers. "But if nobody will, then we have to catch these thieves" the red haired girl sighed in frustration. That's what she said! "Let's go!" Mabel grabbed her hand, and before the twelve year old girl could say anything else, they were both running in the direction the van took off.

And when the place they stood ten seconds ago was empty. Soos came with two big and full shopping bags, looking over a list. "Hey Mabel. Do you think Mr. Pines will be upset if instead of oranges I got lemons? They have the same taste anyway." he looked up, then he looked around, and realized the girls were nowhere. "Girls?" he looked around again "Mabel? Wendy?" he didn't get an answer. Soos sighed dropping his shoulders. "Ah dude. This is coming off from my salary I guess." Then he shrugged and began to chew on a chocolate bar on his way to the car.

Mabel and Wendy followed all the way on the street the van took off. With Wendy around, it wasn't too hard to find them. Mabel had stopped several times, petting a dog, cooing at a cute cat, saluting people whom she had known and haven't seen in a long time, many of them complimenting her on how beautiful she became and how lucky Stan is to have such a beautiful daughter and a kind hearted one... at some point she even forgot what they were doing...

"Ummm Wendy? Where are we going exactly?"

Crashing sounds and loud laughs with loud rock music were coming from a supposed-to-be-abandoned car cemetery. Which now was the junkyard for Gravity Falls, with tiny hints of car cemetery. People turned it into a junkyard, and seems like the group have made their home right there.

There were giant mountains at least two with real junk, the rest being mountains of old cars, one being on top of another and so, until they reached the highest point.

"Oh...never mind" Mabel muttered. Wendy didn't bother to say anything else, she just pushed her older friend forward. Behind the biggest mountain of wrecked cars. There were the boys... and the girl.

Mabel gasped shocked, with a wide smile and palms on her cheeks. They were living in wooden tree houses! Behind the junk yard was the forest, and at the trees there were three wooden houses connected by a wooden bridges. This brought memories back. How even in winter she used to sleep in her tree house at her mother's backyard. That she was getting very sick in the following days, was another thing. At least she was missing from school with a good reason!

"Oh my god, they are so cute! I want to live in one of those, guys can I move in with you?" she exclaimed loudly, not being able to control herself. Hearing her voice, the gang stopped from what they were doing and looked at their intruders. Robbie's jaw dropped in shock, recognizing Mabel immediately. She's so beautiful... not like she wasn't beautiful before! But now... she's stunning!

"Hi Robbie!" She waved at him, flashing him a perfect smile. He had no idea how he managed to wave back. His breath stuck in his throat, unable to form any sounds or words. The other boys let out long whistles when they saw Mabel and like puppies they were all around her.

"Hello beautiful"

"I've never seen you here before!"

"What's your name?"

Robbie sighed and ran his hand over his face, but Mabel had the opposite reaction and giggled.

"So cute" the boys murmured together in one voice with their eyes shining.

"Hi. I'm spending my summer vacation with my dad. I'm Mabel, I'm fifteen years old. And this is Wendy" she pointed to the fuming ginger girl next to herself. She took her time answering all their questions to please them all. She was too good for this world in Robbie's opinion. But Mabel was a little bit sad on the inside. The boy whom she was most interested in, wasn't there... where could he be?

"And you guys are...?"

"I'm Nate. I'm twenty two"

"Lee. Nineteen."

"Thompson. I'm twenty years old."

"Tambry, she has the same age as me. She is the eighteen year old girl with the phone, too busy trying to find Wifi signal to have time for us" Robbie pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the only girl. Then he opened his arms and smiled at Mabel, who hugged him tightly. They haven't seen each other in a while and the time has passed so fast until it turned to years...

"How come you're here Mabes?" he asked when they parted away

"You mean 'here' as in right here? Or 'here' as in Gravity Falls? Well, I'll answer both. I finally convinced mom to let me spend my summer with my dad in Gravity Falls, and for the other question..." she trailed off because she didn't want to continue the idea. She just met these people but she took a liking into them. Actually, she likes every new person she meets. She just didn't think about them doing these kind of stuff... especially Robbie. She knew he didn't have a family, but his character was better than that!

"We are here because we want you to give back what you've stolen!" Good luck with Wendy's temper and big mouth.

"Ooh ginger girl" Robbie laughed rising his hands up "Easy there, we did not steal anything"

"That's not true! I saw you! Mabel saw you too" Wendy saw how he blushed slightly when she mentioned Mabel, and decided if he ever upsets her enough, she will use it in her defense.

He scoffed and turned his head away so Mabel wouldn't see his blush. But Mabel was too busy thinking about the boy she wanted to see so badly.

"Look I don't know what you're talking about, so if you could leave, that would be great cause we have a lot of things to do" he waved them away. Mabel covered Wendy's mouth with her hand, before the young girl could say anything bad. They turned around and walked away, actually, Mabel dragged Wendy away because with her mouth, they could get in trouble, and Mabel doesn't want to get in trouble from the first day. Maybe the second or third, but certainly not the first.

After she took Wendy home, Mabel decided to take a walk in the forest. She had never done that before and she wanted to try it! After all the internet says it is the best place to go if you want to relax or to think... after the shower of course. She can confirm it. After all, her dad will not freak out if she will be late an hour or two

 _ ***Mystery Shack***_

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Stan yelled at Soos, whose mouth was covered in chocolate.

He grinned sheepishly and backed away from the scary mister Pines. Stan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, when another group of tourists came.

"I don't care how you're gonna do it Soos, but I want you to bring me back my daughter before dinner! Or Carla will kill me, and then I will kill you! Understood?" he meant every word he said, then he went to the group without waiting for an answer.

Soos stood in the same place for a few seconds smiling "I know he doesn't mean it. But I don't want Mr Pines to know that I know, so I better go and find Mabel" he said to himself, before going to search for the girl, but he ran into a hot dog stand, and somehow he managed to enter a hot dog eating contest.

 _ ***Gravity Falls Forest* *Mabel Pov***_

I don't know how I managed to get tied on the forest ground in less than five minutes, but I did it. I was simply walking when something jumped on my back. I thought it was a spider, so the rational thing to do was to smash my back against a tree repeatedly while screaming like crazy.

Though, it wasn't a spider. That thing fell off my back and when I turned around to see what it was, I rubbed my eyes thinking I ate too much of mom's packed food. A short creature with a red pointy hat (I so want one for christmas) was puking out... a rainbow? What the heck, am I drunk? No that's not it, I've never been before...

"Your beautiness cannot be described in words" it said reaching out small arms towards me as I backed away

"Thank you?"

Another one appeared out of nowhere next to me "I have not seen such a beauty in my entire life, you're an angel fallen from the sky" and now a gang was surrounding me!

"What the heck is going on here?" I asked looking around at the dwarfs around me

"We are gnomes" I was close enough "I'm Jeff, and here we have Carson, Steve, Jason and... I'm sorry, I always forget your name" he said to the weirdest one of them.

"Shmebulock" Shme-what?

"Shmebulock! Yes!" Jeff snapped his fingers then he looked back at me with adoring eyes "Anyway, long story short, us gnomes have been lookin' for a new queen! And you're the perfect one!" Well, that's very flattering... "So what do you say? Will you join us in holy matrignomey? Matri...matri-mo-ny! Blah! Can't talk today!"

"Look... I'm sorry, guys. You're really sweet, but, I'm a girl, and you're gnomes, and it's like, "what"? Yikes..." there's no way in hell I'm getting married at fifteen. If my dad was here he would kill all these guys, because, add a masculine voice and say _'No one will lay a finger on my baby girl, l while I'm still alive... and you can't look at the mother either! What you can do, is to come at the Mystery Shack and see for yourself what scary things we have there!_

"We understand. We'll never forget you" And I thought here I will get rid of them! "Because we're gonna kidnap you"

And now I'm laying on the forest grass, tied, and married against my wishes to a bunch of jerks... my first day in Gravity Falls is different from what I've expected... I wonder if the whole summer will be like that...

"If anyone doubts of this very official marriage, should speak now or shut up forever" Jeff spoke, playing the priest and the groom. I opened my mouth to say to protest but he covered it with his hand. Now I understand how Wendy felt. It's annoying. "Great. Now we can move on with the ceremo-" Jeff never finished the sentence because a very high pitched sound was heard in all the area. The gnomes screamed in pain as the noise didn't stop. I saw how they gripped their small ears, pulling on them very hard... they must really hate that sound. They ran away in tears, each in a different direction... until I remained alone and still tied... awesome.

When I looked to see who my savior is, I expected to be anybody BUT the brown haired boy who was in the gang. He was wearing the same clothes he wore at the market, except they now looked totally ravished. He took out a knife pocket and freed me.

"Ahh, finally I can scratch again!" Get used to me, I always say things like that. I heard him chuckle as I scratched a spot on the back of my head. When I turned to him, our eyes met, and I felt the same spark as I did back there. He smiled at me and helped me on my feet.

"Thanks... my dad would've died if I told him on my first day here I married a bunch of gnomes"

He chuckled again, throwing his head backwards gently. "Yeah, that would've been awesome. Just remember they hate with all their hearts the high pitched noises and leaf blowers, don't ask about the latter..." My dad has a leaf blower... hehehe I will get my revenge on you jerks! I think he guessed my plan by the look on his face.

"I'm Mabel, I just got here, and I will spend my whole summer in Gravity Falls" I smiled at him, extending my hand. He took my hand and shook it, smiling back.

"I've been here for a while, and I don't know if it's really my name, but all my life I've been called Dipper"


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I've come to a decision. I am taking all the one shots, and I will add them to the story.**_

 _ ***Sixteen years ago***_

For most people the beginning of school meant going back to hell after a summer spent in heaven... and it wasn't easy or pleasant. But Ford Pines was not one of them. He was actually opposite with everyone at something. Rarely he found a person to have in common with him more than two things. Not counting his brother, who is entirely opposite with Ford. It's like they are twins, but in the same time they are not.

At Backupsmore University the genius couldn't do too much because he was already ahead of schedule. Only if his brother wouldn't have broken his experiment...

For the moment the only interesting person is a young lad named Fiddleford McGucket. Three months passed and Stanford Pines couldn't resist the boredom, he finished the school's schedule for the year and now he had nothing to do all day except outsmarting his teachers and read books about anomalies in the world.

That until one day. His attention from class was drifting off, and it slowly went to his brother, where could he be now? He knew his father had gone too far, but he also knew he didn't have the guts to stand up to him either.

"Hey there dreamer" a sweet and melodic voice suddenly made him come back on Earth

"Uhhh" he was always awkward with girls. He loved mysteries, but this one was too complicated "Can I help you?" Ford scratched the back of his head, feeling his cheeks growing red.

"No dreamer, we were signed to make a project together. Were was your mind? On your girlfriend or what?" she was laughing because she was finding it amusing. He was embarrassed because he had been caught day dreaming and because he remembered he was already nineteen and he never had a girlfriend before. Wait! She said something about a project! What project?

"What project?" and more importantly must them both be together? Can't they do it in separate ways?

She giggled. Her giggle and her laugh were very nice. Like soft and warm waves on the beach. "A project about the Solar System. I have to go to my next class dreamer, I'll see you soon" she waved to him, and left the class quickly as the bell rang.

Stanford stood immortalized for a second... Did that girl just flirt with him? Was she possibly finding him attractive? Probably not, after all, he is a six fingered freak. What normal person would like to befriend with him? What girl could even like him as a friend only? In that night, while Fiddleford was sleeping soundly on his bed, and Ford was watching the sky full of stars, he made a silent wish.

"I wish to find someone who will fill my loneliness and make me feel like a normal person. Someone who will love me for who I really am" he hung his head thinking of how stupid must he have looked for making that wish. So he turned from the window and dragged his legs to his bed. In the exact same moment there was a shooting star.

For the next days he learned everything about her. Her name was Alicia Hale. She has light brown hair with blue eyes. She dresses the way she feels to dress. She is a sports person, her favorite one being volley ball. She's very polite, she goes to parties often, but she never gets drunk because she wants to have fun. She is smart, and beautiful, and Ford fell in love with her from the second day he saw her. The most amazing thing about her? She loved his six fingers!

"If we add more glue to Pluto, and less to the others, the planets will fall during the presentation and only Pluto will remain" There was a tone of papers spread in his room, Fiddleford had left to visit his family... probably because he didn't want to clean up or help cleaning. So there was only the two of them.

"How is that going to help us?"

"Many consider Pluto is not a planet, and we are going to prove the otherwise" She was amazed by his intelligence. She considered him too smart for this world, but she saw what he really needed was love.

"You know this applies to the real world too" Alicia said, handing him one of the round balls covered in special paper, they were using as planets. "Even small things can make big changes. Just like that Dwarf Planet. It changed the world when it was discovered"

"I agree with you completely" She saw he was truly amazing... amazing and lonely. She didn't know what had taken over her maybe... No... She really didn't know what had taken over her. But she gently moved away the planet he was currently painting and kissed him hard.

He was shocked. He didn't know how to react. She pressed him on the bed and he lost control, so he let her do whatever she wanted with him. One thing led to another and the rest of the day, they spend it making love. After they were too exhausted to move a muscle, they went to sleep. Unknown to them both... they had created a new life.

In the janitor's closet, a few weeks later, two people were anxiously waiting for a relief or a huge problem to come.

"You know that...no matter what the result is, I still love you" he looked away when he said that because he wasn't used saying that to any other girls besides his mother.

The time was already over, but none of them dared to look. They waited more until she finally found the courage to turn it around and see the result.

"You're pregnant" his voice was above a whisper, her's was gone. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her know, that he will always be there for her, no matter what. She just cried on his shoulder for a very long time.

For the next seven days she hadn't talked to him, seen him, or anybody else for that matter. He was worried sick. He didn't know what to do. He was only nineteen, how could he know anything about a baby? He was just in the same situation as her! Even worse! If his parents would find out about that, he was as good as dead.

So the only rational thing to do was to leave her alone for a while to wrap her head around the idea of a small creature growing up in her stomach. She would suffer more because she loved parties more than anything, but she was also the down on earth type. He loved that about her...he loved her so much it hurt...but he couldn't voice it...when he wanted to say it, his voice was disappearing and his throat became dry. And the unsaid 'I love you' at the right time, became a 'What if?' when it was already too late to do anything.

"Alicia " he gasped when he opened the door.

"Hi Ford" she looked very sullen.

"Alicia! Thank God! I thought you were gone for good" he exclaimed taking her in his arms. He was so happy to see her, that he forgot about the 8 days she avoided his presence instantly, and his mind became full of love towards her.

"I'm sorry I worried you sweety" she replied, in a voice that said she had been crying non stop, hugging him tightly.

"It's alright my love, everything is alright now" now that she was here with him...

After some time, when both pulled away in the same time, she said some words that hurt him more than he cared to admit.

"I am going to have an abortion..."

For the next weeks he was always at her side, helping her with whatever she needed, but being discreet enough so no one will know that she's pregnant. Her abortion is programmed soon, and his chest is tightening every time he thinks about it. After all, they were literally going to kill an innocent being. One that shared their blood.

He felt weird. He wanted to talk about it to anybody! But his colleagues wouldn't understand, his parents would have an attack, and the only time he really needed Fiddleford, his best friend, he chose to spend the holidays with his family. He wanted to be away from his, as far as possible.

Just the thought that he was going to pay someone to murder his son or daughter gave him a deep shiver. He hated it! He still couldn't understand this feeling... he's young, and if the baby is to be born, he will already be twenty. He doesn't know a single thing about children, babies even less. Maybe he's feeling that way because his own child is involved in this?

He couldn't see it. He wanted it to be done ASAP. so he wouldn't feel like this EVER again.

One time they were alone in his room, he was giving her a hot chocolate. Sitting at the edge of his bed and in her tight pajamas, a small bump could be distinguished. Ford didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he knelt down between her legs as his hands pressed slightly against the bump.

"Our child is growing in there" he thought out loud

"I can't wait to get rid of it" he felt a hard stab in his heart when he heard that. Soon the time for the abortion came. Stanford felt like he was going to be beheaded. She was happier than ever. At least they both agreed on one thing. Adoption is not on the list. Either keep it or kill it.

Alicia was sure she wanted to abort it. Ford was about to faint any second. Why? Because he had grown attached to that baby. Something warm stirred in him whenever he thought about it, and later he would simply smile and stay like that for a while and the others wouldn't know why...

"Miss Hale, Mr. Pines, it's your turn" one nurse said. They got up in the same time. Ford took each step with shaky legs. He had grown attached to the baby, but he wasn't sure he was ready to face all the consequences of keeping the baby.

"Good afternoon, my name is doctor Vivian. First we are going to take a look at the baby and then we'll move forward with the abortion. But, if you still want the abortion, because both of you are legal adults, you're going to sign some papers as the parents of the child"

They nodded and she proceeded with explaining things about the abortion and its own consequences. Ford was trembling on the inside, and he felt his breath leaving him when Alicia laid down on that bed.

"We are going to start with an ultrasound, to take a look at the baby to see if he or she is doing alright. Because you are far enough we might be lucky to discover the gender too. And then we will continue with the abortion"

The doctor rubbed a gel on Alicia's stomach. She giggled and said 'It's cold'. The doctor asked him to turn off the light as she turned on the screen. She put the wand on Alicia's stomach and began to move it around.

"Here's the legs" the baby had so tiny toes "The head..." that baby was the cutest thing Ford had ever seen. Suddenly a repeated sound filled the room. Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.

"You just listened to the baby's heart beat." doctor Vivian said softly, Alicia murmured something, but Ford didn't listen to her. He had eyes only for the baby.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" the doctor asked, and before Alicia got to open her mouth, Ford answered.

"Yes. We do." the doctor nodded and moved a little more the wand. He was eager to find out if he has a son or a daughter. "Congratulations" his heartbeat increased "It's a boy!"

He was staring at the screen in awe, especially at his little boy. He looked at Alicia who didn't seem to express any emotion. He was full of them. At that moment, he had a revelation. This baby was a mistake, but this baby was HIS mistake. And no matter how angry his father going to be, or his mother disappointed... he realized he wants to have that baby more than anything. He wants to be a father!

"Alicia, I'm so sorry" he mumbled when doctor Vivian went for the abortion papers. "I...I can't do this"

"What do you mean Stanford?" her voice was venomous and he understood perfectly why.

"Honey...we are going to kill our boy"

"No honey, we are solving a problem" it gave him a deep shiver

"Well I don't want to do it" he cried overwhelmed with emotions "I don't want to kill my child! How can you be so heartless? This baby is not guilty with anything! He's innocent!"

"Don't tell me you've grown attached to that thing!" she cried back, getting up from the bed in a sitting position.

"Any real parent would! And don't call him 'a thing', he is your son! Damn it, he's a human being" his blood was boiling in his veins, he could feel it. He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose to calm his nerves "Look Alicia... I know how much you love your social life, and how a baby ruins it completely. But when I saw our child on the screen I felt a thousand things at once. And I realized that I want to have the baby at any cost"

"Are you out of your mind?" she yelled "Do you have any idea how hard is to have baby in college? That IF the college accepts you and that baby!"

"If some people can do it during high school I don't think it's so impossible in college" he answered with a shrug

"Oh, then what about your parents? I bet they will be so happy to hear the news." the last part was said with a roll of eyes and a sarcastic tone.

"I honestly could care less about what they think. It's my life I can do whatever I want with it. And today I realized something, I want to be a father to that child, I want to raise him, and if I have to do it on my own then so be it! I will raise him the best I can. And something else? You are going to have that baby! Because I am NOT signing that paper for abortion! And you can't have it without my signature. So, AFTER, my son is born, you will either give him to me, or we will continue this fight in the Court. You need to make a choice Alicia. I have already made mine!"


	14. Chapter 14

The rain hit the ground like it was sending arrows towards it. Stanley Pines thought this weather was meant specially for him, to make his late arrival be intentioned, not by mistake. It was the only time in his entire shitty life when Stanley actually wanted to be on time. The only moment he did not want to miss.

The road was completely soaked by the violent rain, making Stanley think he was ice skating with his car instead of driving. He wasn't going to babble now about how much he hated ice skating, and people who were doing it, because it would be useless. He had a much more important mission for now.

He finally reached his destination. Stopping the car, after he hit the parking sign for handicapped people, he got out of the car and ran inside the hospital.

"Oh dang it" He cried slapping his forehead "I forgot the room number" at the office were too many people, he won't be able to make it in time. So he did the only possible thing remained... he started to search every room, she had to be in one of them. Anyway, how many rooms could be in a hospital?

Six floors later, Stanley wished he didn't ask.

He found the room only because Carla's cries were followed by "Damn you Stan Pines!" and many more ugly words. He ran into the room, straight to her bed side.

"Who the heck is he?" The doctor snapped, ready to throw out the intruder any second from now.

"I'm the father of this kid, so you better do your job and take that baby out of her womb before I do it myself!" Stanley snapped back, holding Carla's hand. He just said goodbye to three bones from his hand.

The doctor's attention went back to the woman, after she let out a painful scream. Stanley screamed too, because she grabbed his other hand "Push Miss McCorkle! Keep pushing!" he instructed, while the nurses were pacing around, ready to take the baby when it comes out. "One more time and we are done!" he shouted. Carla took a very deep breath, she was so damn tired. Ten long hours of labor were already too much for her. And that damned Stan came only when she was about to be done.

With one last push the baby was out. The nurses rushed towards the baby, wrapped it in a blanket, then began to clean it.

"You did it sweetheart" Stanley said proudly, wiping Carla's sweaty forehead with what remained of his hand.

"It's a girl!" the doctor announced. Stanley's heart stopped beating for a moment. A girl? A baby girl? His little girl? Carla wasn't there. Neither were the doctor and the nurses. It was only him and his daughter...

"Let me see her! I want to see her!" Carla cried, even if she was exhausted, all she wanted was to hold her daughter.

"Here we go" the doctor sang as he approached the newly parents

"She's beautiful" one nurse said

"And a fighter too!" the other added

Stanley could care less about what the others thought. He is about to faint. There comes his daughter. A little angel wrapped in a pink blanket was handed to Carla. Stan's eyes grew wide as he saw his daughter for the first time. She's the most beautiful person he ever saw, besides her mother and her grandmother, of course.

His palms grew sweaty and his body started to tremble, when the newly mother asked him if he wanted to hold the newborn. He took a few steps back with his hands raised to his chest. He hated to admit it, but he was scared, what if he dropped her? What if she doesn't like him?

"Is Stan Pines, the man I had this child with, scared?" Carla laughed "This is something you don't see every day. Thank you doc."

"Ha, ha, look at me, I'm laughing so hard" Stan replied with straight face, crossing his arms to his chest "And for the record, I'm not afraid of anything."

"Then come here, and hold your daughter." Carla challenged, with a smirk. Stan sighed. Whatever if it is now or later, at some point he will have to hold her. When that baby girl was placed in his arms, Stanley felt a thousand things at once. She had all his features. She was snuggling in her blanket, so she's probably gonna be playful like he was... he almost had tears in his eyes.

He realized how stupid he must've been. This baby here, is everything he had ever wanted. He already fell in love with her. It took one second, one eye contact, and he could already drop at her tiny feet.

"Mabel." he said smiling fondly at the baby in his arms, he looked back at his ex-girlfriend's confused face to answer her "Her name will be Mabel Pines."

"Honey, I came here as fast as I could, but the rain makes driving impossible." the voice belonged that hippie thistle downe, who's name Stanley never bothered to remember.

"What is he doing here?"

"Look Stan..." from the tone of her voice, nothing good can come out next "It was nice to be with you, and having our daughter just brightened my world a billion times, but ..." Carla took a deep breath, while Stan held his "I'm taking Mabel with me, that's why he's here..."

"No..." a dark look covered his face "Mabel will stay with me and only me!"

"Oh, now you want her? How about all the times you begged me to abort her?" Stan was impossible! Her boyfriend went by her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Babe, we're gonna get through this. Just you, me and your daughter. I promise I will love her as my own child, and I'll love you as much as I did before, maybe even more." he said in a calm and cool tone.

"Oh baby, you always know what to say" Carla said

"That was so romantic" the doctor and the nurses were crying too, all passing tissues to each other.

"Uhh, babe where's your ex?" silence in the room.

"He was here a moment ago" Carla said struck. He left? With their daughter?

"Hey where is my wallet?" one nurse shouted searching her pockets, the other nurse and the doctor realized their wallets were gone too. Carla's and her boyfriend's the same.

"Damn you Stan Pines!"

Stanley was laughing so hard he barely watched where he drove. That idiot was doing something to Carla again, and when they weren't paying attention to him, he snatched their wallets and ran out of the hospital. Next to the driver's seat, Mabel was sleeping peacefully.

"You should appreciate this kid. I don't always steal children from their mothers" He laughed again, thinking what their faces would look like when they realize what's going on.

He passed the road sign ' _You are now leaving PENNSYLVANIA , come back soon'_ and officially his life with Mabel started.

 _ ***In another city, a few days later***_

"Postcard for Stanford Pines" the mail man announced, Ford went and opened the door. He took the postcard, wondering who could have send it?

 _ **Hey Poindexter, remember me? Me and Carla broke up, but I've got something incomparable. A daughter. It's the best feeling in the world, you should try. If you ever need me, just call.**_

"I shall know better than you do Stanley" Ford laughed, turning to sleeping baby boy with a loving look "I shall know better" he repeated, promising silently that he will call.

 _ ***To Carla***_

For Carla McCorkle, Stan Pines was many things. A cheap, a liar, always running away from his problems. Stan Pines was many things she hated, but that doesn't mean there weren't times when she saw him as the greatest man who had entered her life.

While waiting in line at the cinema, a mugger made an attempt to grab her purse, resulting in Stan's successful intervention followed by her bestowing him a loving kiss on the cheek. There it started all!

"I love you baby" First time he ever told her that, they were at a festival and he ordered two hot dogs for them both before he realized he forgot his wallet, leaving Carla to pay. She felt a deep shiver all the way down on her spine when he said that, and the following kiss, made her believe she was in another world. Even if the cause was about hot dogs and he might not have meant it that way, but she still felt it.

They spent much time together as a couple, but they had their fights too. Mostly with Stan leaving very angry to God knows where, and her, crying her eyes out for the rest of the night. And when they saw each other the next day, they acted like nothing happened, make out session and some times followed by sweet love making. He would never tell a soul, but Carla knew Stan Pines could be a very romantic man. What they had was special, she couldn't deny it. And she doesn't think she will ever find someone like him.

"Damn it Carla" he shouted in the dark alley, where they were fighting very bad... again... she took him to a dark alley and told him what she needed to tell him, because it was their mistake "How could you let this happen?"

"I am not the only one guilty in this situation" her tears were ruining her make up, but she could care less at the moment. He was the one who didn't have a condom! He was the one who finished himself inside her! If he pulled out at the right time they wouldn't be in this situation!

"Carla look at me!" he pointed to himself "I am a low life. I don't have a stable home and I make money by cheating people, and telling them I am from the orphanage, and some stupid kid is very sick!" she knew that very well "And look at you!" he pointed to her "You have your family by your side, you have money and you have a life!"

"And you think my parents will be alright when they find out I am eighteen and pregnant?" she yelled through her tears, before she turned her back to him, leaned on a wall, and broke down in hard sobs. She felt two strong and muscular arms wrap around her, giving her the warm she needed. Stan didn't know what to do in this situation, so he just held her tight, hoping it will all go away and never happen again.

Damn... a baby? He knew nothing about babies! He didn't want a baby and he can't take care of one! He had many different solutions for many problems, but for THIS, his mind was empty...their immense luck? Carla's family is very religious and when they heard about the baby the simply refused to let her have an abortion and promised to take care of the baby.

Stan was in ecstasy! He was so happy that someone else had a solution for his problem. However, when Stan Pines is involved, nothing can go according the plan, so the inevitable happened. Stan ran away with his daughter just minutes after her birth.

She was very frustrated with this! Stan Pines says one thing and does the other, the other thing that never existed in the first place. This was only one reason of why she ended things with him...

"Hey Carla" of course he calls for help. He doesn't know a thing about a baby, and a baby is nothing like a grown up.

"What is it Stan?" She gets up and goes to the kitchen with a pen and a notebook. She knows he isn't able to take care of her on his own. He was going to ask her to help him with their daughter, and she will go to wherever he is and take her daughter home where she belongs.

"Ummm, I know it's not the right time after I ran away with Mabel from the hospital leaving you on that bed after you just gave birth to her, but..." she puts the pen on the notebook to write the address. Here he goes "Do you know from books or something about how to change a diaper? The way I do it, doesn't seem... any good"

"Just tell me where you are Stan, I'll come there and take Mabel" she sighed in the phone

"No, no, no, no" quickly came the response "No!" Carla's eyes widened, being shocked to hear it "I just want to know how to change a diaper properly, then I won't bother you again! Pinky promise"

"Stan?" she asked with incredulous voice, a long pause followed, giving time for the words to form and come out "You really want to take care of her?"

"Well, duuh" he replied "That's why I'm calling you Carla, you read those books about babies, I thought you might know. What kind of father would I be to my baby girl if I can't take care of her?"

She almost dropped the phone when she heard it. But Stan continued speaking "She's amazing Carla. She's playful and laughs all day and makes me laugh with the faces she's making and sounds... you know she might look mostly like me, but on the inside she's entirely you..."

"I don't doubt it" Carla said, with a small smile and emotional face. Someone WAS able to change Stan Pines, and strangely it wasn't her... it was the fruit of their love... their baby girl.

"Ahh, Carla honey, I need to hang up" he said, after she explained to him very well how to change Mabel and feed her "Mabel's waking up, and when I put my hand on her stomach, she kicks me with her tiny legs. It's so funny and very tickling in the same time. I'll call another time, bye sugar." Stan closed the phone and Carla cried. She lost the man she loved and he had remade his life with their daughter... now Stan's having unforgettable memories with Mabel and she has only regrets.

Stan Pines is a cheater, a liar and a low life. Her baby girl is a little wonder, whom Carla didn't get to see much. She loves them both with all her heart and she cries, knowing she could be with them at the very moment and they could be a family after all. But it's all a too beautiful fantasy to be true.


	15. Chapter 15

Ford was scared to death. He was ready to beg on his knees so his father would accept them.

"Shh" he shushed the whimpering newborn baby in his lap. He was going to be there soon. The baby was born only a few hours ago, and it became Stanford's world. If he got attached to his child at the ultrasounds, now he was in heaven. He was doing some late shopping for the baby when he got a call from the hospital, saying his girlfriend (if he could name her that, he didn't know if they were a couple anymore) had gone into labor.

He dropped everything he was holding, called for a cab to have a quick run at the university where he barged inside his own room (Fiddleford graduated early, thanks to his gifted mind, so Ford had the room only for himself) he grabbed the most important things and stuffed them in his pack back, only to have a crazy ride to the hospital.

But he was grateful. He got there just in time. He went to Alicia, his first and probably only ever love, and took her hand whispering sweet nothings. After all she was the mother of his baby, but she stated clearly she wants nothing to do it with it. So when the newborn was brought to them, Ford simply forgot all about his girlfriend. A tiny human being has replaced in his heart everything and everyone.

He was falling more and more for the baby, for how much the baby resembles Ford, but... one thing made Ford's inside explode with love. The baby had a birthmark on his forehead, just like the Big Dipper. For the first time since he was a child, he felt he finally wasn't alone anymore, his six fingers had their share. One of them went to cup the newborn's cheek affectionately, but his finger was wrapped in the baby's extremely small fist. Oh good god, could this baby be anymore perfect? Could Ford's love grow even bigger?

The answers for both questions is yes. Because it wasn't just a perfect baby, it was Stanford's perfect baby. Only Stanford's.

Honestly in all, he completely forgot about Alicia, who sitting a few steps away from them in a bed. He couldn't care less actually, since the Backupsmore doesn't want more bad publicity by allowing students to have babies, and the mother wants nothing to do with the baby, it was only the two of them. Giving the baby to a nurse for another check up, he began to dress himself, his job here was done. Only one last thing he said to Alicia when he was ready to leave the hospital, and her life, forever.

"Dipper... our son's name. It's Dipper Pines." when the baby was given to him again, he started to head to the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob, only to turn around and say one final thing. "Farewell, Alicia. Me and Dipper will forever be grateful."

In another world, at another time, they might have been the perfect family that ever existed. But in this world... to give him his son, she took all his money. That was enough to make her refuse aborting the baby, or getting rid of it in other ways, and getting suspended during the nine months from college.

And now a cab was taking them home. But not home, at Backupsmore. Home, as in the house he grew up. And he was deadly scared. Each passing second meant he was closer to his destination... he was fucking terrified! He hasn't called in a long time, in the rare times he calls he's fast to hang up... and now he was coming home unannounced and with a baby! Gods be good! May they let this go well.

"We're here!" the cab driver said, stopping in front of Ford's house. It has been such a long time since he came here last.. After paying the guy, he took his things and stopped in front of the door. He inhaled and exhaled deeply. His legs were trembling, his grip on Dipper tightened just a little, and he had a hard time deciding if he should knock or not.

When he finally knocked, it was too late to take it back. "Coming!"

When his mother opened the door, whatever she was holding, she dropped it. It was a new vase or something, which is broken now.

"Stanford!" she exclaimed, like she couldn't believe he was there.

"Hello mother...it's been a while." Ford, now feeling embarrassed for showing up like that. He should've called first.

"Too much time has passed! I thought something happened to you!" she had all the rights to be angry like that "Where did you come from? Do you know anything about Stanley? Just like you, he hasn't called us in over six months!"

"No" Ford shook his head, a tiny part of him being worried about his twin. "I haven't spoken to him since..." he stopped there. He knew he wouldn't be able to say out loud Stanley was kicked out because of him. And now, thanks to Stanley's stupid mistake, he has in his arms his bundle of joy.

"What is this all about?" Ma asked, her eyes locked on the newborn.

"Mother... please, if I can come in for a minute, I will explain everything." how could she not listen to one of her boys? They'll always be her baby boys no matter what. She stepped away from the door, noting silently to clean up later the pieces. She had to spend some time with her son. Who knows when she'll see him again?

When they entered her room, she said their father is turning their old room into a training one. He said nothing about it, and he explained it all to her. Even the details. Most he spoke to her about Alicia and how much he loved. He even told his mother, that if she changed her mind, at the birth, he would've proposed to her. But she never did...

"Mom, please. Please understand. I-I couldn't kill him" he looked at Dipper "It would have been like I committed suicide. I just couldn't."

"Do you even know how to raise a baby? How hard it is?"

"I know... I've... read some books"

"Books?" She cried "You think books actually show you how to take care of a baby?" she sighed, then she moved his arms carefully not to disturb the baby. And somehow it felt better. "Here. This is the best way to hold him, otherwise, your arms will go numb and you'll drop him."

Stanford blushed awkwardly. She had no care of it.

"Come" she beckoned him, already walking out of the room "Downstairs, to the kitchen. I'll show you how to feed him and change him."

After they cleaned the broken pieces, they spent the next hours, with Ma, showing Ford how to take care of Dipper properly, having him to change even clean diapers until he got it right. Or him to test himself the temperature of the milk, so it wouldn't be too hot or too cold. How many times he should feed the baby a day, how many times a baby wakes you through the night, how many hours usually a baby sleeps and all of that. She even taught him how to give Dipper a bath.

"So... I'm a grandmother now" she said smiling fondly at her nephew.

"And I am a father" Ford replied. "Mom... is" he suddenly grew serious "Is this how you felt when you had me and Stanley?"

"I had two wonderful boys and my husband by my side" Ma leaned on his back, with each hand on his shoulder "But yes, I felt the same way as you did when you had your son, make it double since I had two wonderful babies"

Then, Filbrick entered the house.

"Sorry I'm late. I met with Shermy. He's okay, but he said will visit us in a week, right now he's busy with work, and his wife and kids ( ** _I'm making Shermy older than Stanford and Stanley, and with twins. Why? Because I don't believe the baby Ma was holding in 'A Tale Of Two Stans' was Shermy. It would make him around 40 AND a grandpa to 12 year olds. It doesn't make any sense. PLUS, I don't think Disney will ever accept teen parenting. So, I made him like... 23,24)_**

He stopped in the middle of the room when he saw his son, the smart one, in his kitchen.

"Hi...dad" Ford's forehead grew sweaty. His father stayed quiet. Tension was building.

"I want that thing out." he pointed to baby Dipper "Now."

"Excuse me?" Ma cried "He's your nephew and he's not going anywhere!"

Filbrick's face went from surprise, to realization his kid had a kid, and finally to shock. "Alright... I want my _nephew_ AND my son out of my house!"

"Father please." Ford heart was beating to break his chest "He's my son. He's a newborn. I... I have no money. I'm broke. Father please, we need a place to stay. I swear I'll make sure Dipper won't bother you with anything, neither I!"

Filbrick looked at his son, then at his nephew, and finally to his wife. What he did next shocked them all. He grabbed Stanford by his collar and threw him out in the street.

"Father!" he got up, only to take Dipper from his dad.

"I don't have enough to feed another two mouths."

"I'll starve myself!"

"One that doesn't stop eating." his father cut him off with a glare, throwing also the things Ford had brought with him. "Go and make yourself a fortune with that brain of yours!" with that he shut the door close.

A tear ran down on his cheek. They were broke, and homeless. Deciding that crying in front of his home was a waste of time, he left the town, trying to find at least a dump to live in. It's all he can afford for the moment.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Ma screamed at her husband. "HE WAS OUR LAST SON. SHERMY IS ALWAYS AWAY AND I HAVEN'T SEEN MY STANLEY IN YEARS! WHY?"

Filbrick gritted his teeth violently before punching a wall, getting out his anger.

"I didn't want to do that Maureen... but I had no choice" he punched the wall again, and if Ma wouldn't have seen it, she wouldn't have ever believed that her husband shed some tears.

"I don't understand"

He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her "We are broke Maureen. We have nothing! The pawn shop is closed. We need to keep the house, that's why I am turning the boys' room into a training one. We need money! That's why I met with Shermy today... he doesn't have much, but he's giving us some... I... I screwed up with two of our sons... I'm not letting the third one hate me forever. But Maureen, please believe me. If I could in a way, I would've kept them both. We don't even have enough money for ourselves in the next week. I am running out of ideas... we're screwed... Maureen I'm so sorry, baby. You deserve a much better life than the one you had with me..."

Maureen was shocked to every bone. Her husband just broke down in front of her, with a rather shocking secret.

So, as a good wife, the only thing she could do, was to take her husband in her arms, and whisper to him that everything's gonna be okay. It has to.

But at night she cried herself to sleep. It might have been the last time she ever saw Stanley or Stanford.

 _ ***Fifteen Years Later***_

"Dipper?" Mabel narrowed her eyes "Dipper..." she repeated his name "Dipper." then her face brightened "I like it!" she exclaimed snapping her fingers "It's cool, and unusual, and I like it!"

"You wanna know why Dipper, from all the names?" he didn't expect the answer and he moved away his hair from his forehead, revealing his birthmark.

Mabel gasped making big shiny eyes, reaching out to touch the mark "It's just like Big Dipper!"

"Yup." Dipper grinned "You know, people used to make fun of me for it until one day when I punched a kid, in the middle of the play ground, and then I smacked his head against a stone repeatedly until the healed wound became a mark for him too."

"Why would you do something like that?" Mabel was taken back if not totally, then surely by a dozen miles. She asked in a very small voice. Just like when she was pleading for something she wanted, like a unicorn, but now it's the opposite! "Couldn't you talk to him first or something?"

"He wasn't going to listen anyway" Dipper simply shrugged, replying truthfully. "I acted on the moment. And honestly, I regret nothing. The kid deserved it for making fun of me, and then the other kids shut their mouths. Never said anything bad about me ever again." She starts to think the education he has if far different from her's. She thought she might have found a friend... but they are totally opposites... they have nothing in common by now, and she thinks they won't find it later anyway.

"Respect is earned, not forced." Mabel turned and started to walk away. She didn't like him anymore, he was too violent for her. Her hopes were raised for nothing. The boy is clearly dangerous and she must stay away. What if he hits her too?

Dipper rolled his eyes and ran forward, stopping in front of her. "Look, you seem like a sweet girl. But let me tell you something, in this world, being sweet can get you killed. Okay? Believe me, I know what I'm talking about." he pushed something in her fist "It's a high pitched whistle. In case the gnomes attack you again." she looked at him confused "I'm not going to apologize for being like this, neither explain myself to a total stranger whom I never met before, and I certainly won't run after you like they do in fairy tales. Life is not a fairy tale. It's living dream or nightmare. And when you'll realize that. You can come to me"

He walked past her, and soon he disappeared somewhere in the forest. Mabel turned around and walked home with her head down.


	16. Chapter 16

Dipper was a weird guy. And Mabel liked him for being such a weird guy. But when she learned he was a violent type of person, something changed. She never liked violence. Violence doesn't bring any real peace. It never does.

"Where the heck have you been?" oops. Now she remembered she forgot to call. "Have you been with a boy or something?" her father's eyes narrowed dangerously, and out from nowhere he had in his hands a loaded gun.

"Where did you get that?" she titled her head to the side...she wanted one too...but one that's less dangerous. A gun with gummy bears! That would be too cool!

Stan shrugged. "I have another nine." for him it seemed normal "After all, it's my job to terrorize all the boys in your life. And I love it!" Mabel giggled, forgetting all about her sadness. "Hey, you want to do something for me sugar?"

"Sure!" she beamed.

"Good. Tomorrow, you'll start working at the Mystery Shack!" her face dropped. Wait, what? "I need some help around the shop, and because you are family I won't have to pay you" seriously? "I love you sweetheart" he kissed her forehead and went upstairs to put the gun away. Each gun has a different hiding place. Stan likes to change them all the time, so he will never know which gun he will get the next time a boy tries to court his daughter.

The next day came quickly and half of it would have been boring as hell...if you're not Mabel. Every cute boy who entered the shop, didn't escape from her constant flirting. Only when Stan was passing by, and the split of a second whenever she wasn't looking, he would smack the kid's head and whisper dangerously to him to get lost.

"Man, I'm in good shape today" she said watching a boy run away screaming from the shop, leaving the door open. Actually, Stan threatened him to cut off his balls in his sleep and sell them to his parents as the rarest oranges existent in the world.

"You're always in good shape" Robbie replied to her, while entering the shop through the opened door. Mabel gave him a huge smile and leaned over the counter to give him a big hug.

"I missed you" she said when they pulled away "Just like I missed this town!"

Robbie laughed and looked around. "Now you work here?"

"Yeah. My dad needs help and since I'm family he doesn't have to pay me...not that he would've done it anyway, but that's another problem." she waved it away like it was nothing, but it seriously wouldn't hurt if she got another plushy multicolored unicorn. Twelve are just not enough.

"Nice... so you're busy? I came here to ask you if you want to hang out later"

"Are you even asking? Of course!" Mabel beamed. To make new friends in Gravity Falls and have an epic unforgettable summer is her dream since her mom told her she can go!

"Awesome, I'll come later and pick you up" Robbie gave her another hug and left.

"Hello...sweetheart" another boy entered with his girlfriend. The 'Hello' was long, his eyes looking for any worker, and when they reached Mabel, the word 'sweetheart' was instantly flirtatious. Just then, Stan was passing by again with a group of tourists and saw the scene. Mabel was turned with her back, and Stan took advantage of that.

"Hey, sugar pie? Can you bring another box of T-Shirts? We uhhh..." he looked at all the T-shirts, grabbed them and made of them a big ball, which he threw out on the window. "We ran out of them!"

"Sure thing daddy" Mabel left the room. Stan went to the boy and grabbed his collar.

"If you look at her in that way ever again, I will show you what a 'sweetheart' I can be!"

The boy wasted no time in running away from the shop, but not before his girlfriend slapped him for looking at another while he was with her.

"And consider we are over!" she yelled at him. Her face turned teary and she started to cry.

"Look" Stan said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You don't need jerks like him in your life. You deserve much better than that...and you know what's the best solution for a broken heart?" he went to the counter and grabbed an old doll. Stan looked around and bent down to whisper to her. "It's a voodoo doll. Totally working. I'm telling you. My ex mother-in-law never bothered me again after I used this doll."

"How much is it" the girl asked with an evil glint in her eyes

"For you? Only 200 bucks!" she handed him 250 dollars and ran out of the shop.

"That was my doll since I was six" Mabel said after she witnessed the scene "And it was only four dollars." she put the box with the T-shirts down. "And you've never met grandma, because _grandma_ didn't want to."

"That is not true. I've met her once!" Stan countered back "It was when your mother told her family she was pregnant and she dragged me there because she said there was good food. There wasn't."

"And since then grandma doesn't want to see you." she grinned "And when was that? Oh right, almost sixteen years ago"

"Don't you have work to do pumpkin?"

"Hey, Mabel, Mr. Pines, look at me! I am the monster of the ugly T-shirts" Soos laughed entering the shop all covered in the shirts Stan just threw out.

"I'd fire you all if I could" Stan said before walking away.

For the rest of the day, Mabel and Soos, watched Stan deal with an angry group. Just when he passed by a crystal ball, claiming it was an unbreakable rare glass, he broke it. The group said they all want their money back, and Stan just said there's no refunds. Then he grabbed the cash and ran away with it.

"Ready Mabes?"

"Yup!" she scribbled quickly a note in case Stan was coming back (those people looked very angry) and she left with Robbie. Since they were at totally opposite points, the Shack and the Junkyard, Robbie came with his car and all the way to the Junkyard they talked non-stop.

"You know..." he said at some point "The Junkyard wasn't always like that. It used to be a car cemetery, and before the Car Cemetery, there was the only Adoption Center of Gravity Falls."

"Really?" Mabel asked turning from the window to him. "What happened?"

"No one knows why the Adoption Center was closed." he shrugged "It's a mystery. But I can tell you that the Car Cemetery didn't work out, and then me and the gang moved in, and we turned it into the Junkyard of Gravity Falls and also our home."

"Robbie..." her went from audible to very small "I don't want to buzz into your lives, or something. You know me... but..."

"Let me guess" he sighed "It's about Dipper?"

The fifteen year old's eyes widened "H-How did you know?"

"He asked me some things about you too, like from where do I know you, but when I asked 'why?', he quickly shut me down and changed the subject" he sighed, and harder this time "Look Mabes, we are together because we can't survive on our own. We can't be together without understanding each other, and we can't understand each other without knowing our back stories." he looked very concentrated on the road, and his grip on the wheel tightened "He's a weird kid, just like the rest of us. But he's the youngest of our group and yet... his past is the worst of them all. Never heard such a story in my entire life..."

Mabel turned back to the window. She knew she shouldn't press on and she won't.

"And we're here" he said parking the car somewhere between the mountains of junk and broken car pieces. She glanced again at the wooden tree houses...Jesus, how she loved them.

"Yo, the hot chick is back!" Lee shouted when he saw Mabel and Robbie.

"Hi guys!" they were doing different things and sitting at different places. Lee was playing the DJ. Tambry was taking selfies. Thompson was with Nate working at a car, and Dipper was playing the guitar along with Lee's beats.

(Link for the song. Search on YouTube and add this: watch?v=GYRcJfJvTts or simply search Fly Project - So High)

Dipper turned to her with crooked grin, while still playing along with the beats. He was analyzing her deeply, but she told herself she won't be intimidated by him.

"Hey" he broke the silence between them "You know how to sing?"

"Of course I do!" she said with a smug smile.

"Then come and join us!"

She was a bit surprised, but she shook the thought away and went to sit next to him, the others gathering around as well. She put her hand on his shoulder, her chin resting on her hand.

 ** _Give me a reason to fly_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _I wanna live in the sky_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _I wanna see you tonight_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _So give me a reason to party_**

 ** _On replay (x2)_**

The beat already got Mabel. She loved to see with how much passion these guys sang. Pretty much all of them seemed talented in music. So far Dipper knows how to dance, to sing and to play the guitar. She wouldn't be too shocked if someone told her he is the coolest guy in town. Maybe she can become the coolest girl. Actually she will because she's awesome!

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _Bow bow bow bow bow bow_**

 ** _(x7)_**

Whatever the chorus had sense or not, mattered too little. 'Fun' was in the air tonight. Breath 'fun', exhale 'fun', have fun!

 ** _Give me a reason to fly_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _I wanna live in the sky_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _I wanna see you tonight_**

 ** _So high_**

 ** _So give me a reason to party_**

 ** _On replay (x2)_**

 ** _XOXO_**

 ** _Bow bow bow bow bow bow_**

 ** _(x7)_**

Mabel decided it was time to show them what she has got. They may be extremely cool, but she's no lower in rank than they are. She got up with a smug smile and sang while passing each person, moving sensually around them. Yup, those club nights before and after she turned fifteen really paid off.

Second time she sang her part, she returned to Dipper and caressed his cheek, before sitting down again. Oh yeah! She rocked it!

 _ **Aiaiaiaiai**_

 _ **E l'amor me quema**_

 _ **Aiaiaiaiai**_

 _ **Mi corazon te espera (x2)**_

 _ **Bow bow bow bow**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Bow bow bow bow bow bow**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Bow bow bow bow bow bow**_

 _ **XOXO**_

 _ **Bow bow bow bow bow bow**_

Lee and Dipper finished in the same time, and the song ended. It was really really great, they all began to applause and to cheer. Way too awesome! Then they began to play silly games invented by themselves. They made a camp fire and ate all they've stole from the markets. They were joking around, making stupid things with food or simply saying the dumbest things crossing their minds.

Mabel had a very great time. For the first time since she was born, someone understood her. And there wasn't only one person. There were five people! Five amazing and kind people. She feels she has finally found her home, here in Gravity Falls.

"You're cold?" Dipper asked her, seeing she was rubbing her arms. She nodded, and he motioned for her to follow him. They climbed up in one of the tree houses. Dipper went to his bed and handed her a black long sleeved shirt with Metallica written in golden letters.

"Sorry, all my clothes are rock themed" he said while she was turning the shirt over her head.

"Doesn't matter. I love pop music, but that doesn't mean I don't listen to rock from to time" she replied. "I had such a great time with you guys... I don't know how to describe it in human words. In Mabel's words would be easier, but you won't understand a thing."

"Yeah... you see, people call us evil and destructive. But we're not like that. We're just human beings, like everyone else, but we don't have all the expensive stuff. The only time we react violently is when rich people try to bully us. They have no right! We steal only because we have to survive. None of us wants to die. And trust me, if the town's people wouldn't see us like monsters, they'd rather choose us instead of the rich snobs. But they don't... and it's fine with us. At least we'll have each other forever." he slowly walked to a night stand and picked up a red book "Look... about yesterday in the forest..." Dipper handed her the book. While flipping through the pages, Mabel's eyes visibly widened "If I told you that magic really exists in this town, would you believe me?"


	17. Chapter 17

Mabel took the journal from Dipper and started to flip through the pages. Many weird things she'd never believe in, were there, along with perfect drawings and descriptions of them all. Some creatures had weaknesses, some didn't. It was incredible. She turned to the last written page and began to read aloud.

"I can hardly believe that it's already been a few months since I've came to Gravity Falls, Oregon. Everything was much easier to study since I had my college partner with me. But dark times have reached me. My heart is empty, and I've already lost my most precious _treasure_. Now I am lonely again. I am losing my mind. Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I am being watched. I must hide this book before HE finds it. Remember, in Gravity Falls, there's no one you can trust."

Mabel wanted to say something but no words were coming out of her mouth. She needed some time to regain her composure.

"Magic is real! It's real!" she squealed with excitement, slowly jumping up and down. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Definitely not the reaction I expected." Dipper said, watching her amused "The only person I've ever tried to tell before was Robbie, and he thought I was going nuts."

"This is so amazing! Where the heck did you even find this book?" if she wouldn't have been involved with some gnomes earlier, she would've loved to share her imagination with him. But it's all freaking real! No imagination, fake, or lie! All real! "My epic summer is becoming really epic right now!"

"I guess, you could say this is really epic, and unbelievable. Look, we'll talk more later I promise, but now I must get you home. Your dad's probably freaking out right now."

"Pfft" Mabel stuck out her tongue and waved her hand "I seriously doubt that. He'd freak out more if he didn't have any beer in the house. I'm sure he's fine!"

 _ ***To The Mystery Shack***_

"It's okay Stan. It's alright." he mumbled to himself "She must be somewhere around the house. Where else could she go? Soos isn't here, so you can't put the blame on him. Or you could but that would mean a waste of a good fraud. And why use it on Soos, when you can use it when you have a bigger problem?"

He went to the attic twice already, then he returned downstairs. Still nothing. "Oh boy, Carla is seriously going to kill me if I keep losing Mabel at the most unfortunate times. Just go get some beer and everything will work out then."

He went to the fridge and when he opened it, he was terrified. "WHERE IS MY BEER? AND WHERE IS MABEL? I AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!"

He slammed the fridge's door shut. Then his eyes went wide, staring at the rat sitting on the table, who was staring back at him. Stan blinked, and so did the rat titling its head to the side. Stan blinked three more times before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Outside the Mystery Shack, a terrible girly scream was heard, scaring all the birds in the area and Gompers the goat.

 ** _*Back To Dipper And Mabel*_**

"I found this book a few weeks ago. I was wondering randomly in the forest after Robbie and I had a fight. I remember I punched angrily a tree, and when I realized I actually punched something metallic, I hit it again, and then I activated a switch. A hiding chamber opened, not too far, and there I found this dusty old journal...which pretty much changed my life forever"

Dipper explained to her, while they climbed down from the house and went to the car Robbie brought Mabel with.

"Umm you know how to drive?"

"Yeah. Thompson taught us all how to drive, in case we need to escape quickly. Don't worry though, I promise I'll drive carefully." Dipper got on the driver's seat and turned the engine on. He seemed to know what he is doing, and a small voice told her to trust him. Which Mabel found a little worrying since voices don't just pop up into your mind and say something. Imaginary friends are better than the voices in your head.

Isn't that right Sir Bearyshore?

"So...do you have any idea who wrote this journal?" she asked, after Dipper turned the engine on and drove off the Junk Yard

"Not a clue." he said, taking a wrong turn to make the road last longer and talk with Mabel some more. "But whoever did this, is a total genius, and my personal hero. I mean, with this dude's help, I've finally found what I want to do in my life, solve mysteries, discover new creatures, or things that are supposed to be impossible!"

"Nice" Mabel smiled "Need any help? I happen to be a very promising mystery helper. At least, that's what my horoscope says for today."

"Sure" Dipper smiled back "I could use some help, and since you're the only one who doesn't think I'm crazy, I think you'd be the perfect partner!"

Mabel shifted her position on the seat, and turned fully to Dipper with her fist "Then we'll need a cool name, and one just popped in my head from Mr Bearyshore...what do you say...Mystery Twins?"

"Mystery Twins" Dipper replied bumping her fist with his.

 ** _*The Next Day*_**

"Yo!" Dipper just entered the Mystery Shack. He came to see Mabel, but he didn't expected to see her look so tired. He went to the counter and waved his hand in front of her face. "Mabel? Are you okay?"

"No!" she said before her head hit the counter, her elbow being unable to support the hardness of her head. "I came home, and I found my dad clinging the fridge, shaking like a cute chiwawa and with a high pitched voice demanding me to get rid of that thing. A friend of mine, who happens to be a rat called Collin. So, I've spend the entire night chasing Collin, with my dad behind me, jumping on me every time he heard a 'weird' sound. And now I'm so tired that I see like three of you. Yet, I don't want to see any of you."

"Didn't you drink some coffee or some thing?"

"I couldn't!" Mabel said, as a very energetic Stan passed them, muttering something along the lines 'Gotta take money from people. Gotta make some gold. Gotta find a girlfriend!'

"My dad drank all the coffee last night thinking Collin might get him when he's asleep. And now he is like usual me, and I feel old like him. Proof! My dad saw me with you, and he didn't blow your head off with one of his guns. I don't think he even noticed you."

"That's... nice..." Dipper paused between his words to check if he still has his head, which luckily, is still stuck to his neck. He respected Stanford Pines, because he has a rare ability to cheat people and make them give their money away for the most stupid things. But his overprotective ways, got Dipper just a tiny bit scared, and a little more than he cared to admit.

Truth to be told. With a daughter looking like Mabel Pines, you'd expect nothing less. Dipper would be the same if he was in Stan's place.

"I'm so tired, I could just prick my finger on a spinning wheel's spindle and sleep forever." Mabel mumbled with a tired yawn.

"Ah, but many suitors would be willing to go through the worst, to obtain a kiss of yours."

"I wouldn't worry about that. My dad's overprotective ways are worse than the worst. Mom knows better."

"If you say so..." Dipper walked around and stopped in front of some blue pine tree hats. "Look, if you want to, I'll take over while you go upstairs and get some rest."

"Really?" she asked surprised "Thanks Dipper."

"No problem. I don't have anything better to do anyway." he winked at her.

"Come with me!" she beamed "I want to show you my room!" Mabel didn't wait for an answer, as she took his hand and led him upstairs to the attic. Dipper let out a long whistle. He found that room to be awesome just because it was in the attic.

"I always wished for a room just like this one. That's what motivated me and the guys to build the tree houses. They are cool...but this room is just...cooler. You know what I'm saying?"

"Totally" Mabel said laying down her bed.

"Uhh. Mabel? Who else are you sharing your room with?"

"No one." she gave a big yawn, and rolled over, so she was with her back to Dipper.

"Then why are here two beds?"

"No idea."

Dipper stared at the empty bed on the left side for a while. Why would Stan bring a bed here if only Mabel has this room? Who knows? Maybe it's for when relatives are coming over and they don't have where else to stay...

Dipper's heart beat is increasing, and any other sound in the room is fading. The closeness he feels to this room is incredible. He feels like this is supposed to be his home. His eyes dance around the room, and the room itself makes him feel like he's finally home after a very long road he traveled.

He sits down on the carpet and watches how Mabel's body is rising and falling. Somehow this feels right too... He doesn't understand anything anymore. He doesn't understand himself anymore.

Why in the world did he turn so soft for Mabel Pines? Maybe it's because under her mask, they are both the same... Like twins. Even if they are not related.

Dipper turns around to take another look at the empty bed on the left side of the room, and he sees something under it. Reaching down for it, and blowing away the dust, he finds a box with some baby toys in it. A game where you have to put the pieces on the right places. He smiled a little and stuck a triangular form in its right place. He believed he was the first to complete the puzzle in years. And he wondered why Mabel would have such toys, because it's crystal clear they are not her type.

"Whatever..." Dipper muttered, putting back the toys under the bed. It's not his family. It's not his life. It's not his room. He has no reason to be curious and ask for answers.

Dipper yawned. After he took Mabel home, he returned to the gang and partied some more. Yup. They can do whatever they want, and whatever they like. They are the so called 'Rebels Falls'. He has no idea who called them that first. He has been in Gravity Falls for a few months, but things were moving terribly fast in this town, that he had a hard time to keep up and still has.

So many things changed for him in a very short time. But whoever called them that first, if the person was now in front of Dipper. Dipper would make sure to beat this person so bad until an ambulance would be needed.

Instead. He yawned again and climbed the empty bed. Before he knew it, he was asleep, with a soft smile on his face.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'd be really damn happy if Snow Storm reaches 100 reviews before chapter 20. Sorry if I seem a little bit demanding. I am not in a great emotional state right now.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_* **Fifteen**_ **_Years_** _**Ago** *_

A being without limits swam in the mindscape. A genius, knowing very little of true magic, freed him unknowingly from the prison he had been trapped. For a moment he tasted the true freedom he craved for a very long time. But only for a moment. The one who caged him had a backup plan in case this being ever found a way to escape. The magic acted against him and he was sent immediately back in the mindscape where he belonged.

The scientist who freed him, was truly a gifted man. A man who can be very easily used because of the offspring he has.

This being was made of pure magic, older than the Universe itself. It was a demon. A dream demon named Bill Cipher.

"Since I've been trapped inside the mindscape for such a short period, I can not go to the sixer's mind yet... but that doesn't mean I can't try with the baby"

It was clear for Bill that the man adored his offspring. Rather young, for such a genius, to have a baby. You would've thought he would have been more careful.

But nonetheless, with the baby on his side, the man will have no choice but to follow as well.

After the annoying woman, who has a terrible obvious crush on the terrible oblivious scientist, went to her home, Bill had to wait for the young Stanford Pines to put his son to sleep. Then Bill changed his mind. He will try tomorrow...

The genius chose to sleep with the baby in that night... Stupid humans and their feelings. Why to care anymore when, at some point, everyone dies? Bill couldn't understand the humans. And neither did he want to. It was far too complicated to study them all and their behavior.

Tonight is his chance! Another snow storm hit Gravity Falls. Stanford Pines was downstairs, with his nerdy partner, playing the nerdiest game ever, invented by nerds like them. The baby was upstairs taking a nap. Bill saw the opportunity, and tried to enter the baby's mind.

But the walls were too hard to break...

The baby opened his eyes, completely unaffected and unharmed. His eyes darted all around the room searching for Six Fingers. His eyes got watery, seeing there's no Six Fingers around, and he began to make weird sounds... something in the baby language probably...

Before Bill could try to guess what it was. The baby started to cry loudly. Now Bill's grateful he doesn't have ears. It's still very painful. But if he actually had ears. Oh, just imagine the torture..

All the baby had in his head was Six Fingers. And as if on cue, the named man just entered the room holding a small bottle. The baby's wails were too loud for him to hear his father, and his closed eyes shedding tears like a fountain didn't exactly allow him to see anything. "What's wrong Dipper?"

But when he felt himself being wrapped in his father's arms, feeling his warmth, he began to stop! He felt now he was protected. _He felt it was Ford._ He latched on him with his small arms, demanding to never be left alone like that again.

So the infant can't talk, but he can feel. He felt when Bill tried to penetrate his mind. He felt no one else was in the room. He felt when Ford took him in his arms.

"That's an interesting thing about humans and their offsprings." Bill mused, planning to try again to penetrate the infant's mind. This time, he'd like some action too. The nerds are playing their stupid game, and the infant is sleeping. He wondered how would Six Fingers react to his son being possessed?

Well, there's only one way to find out.

He tried to penetrate the baby's mind for the second time. Again. Unsuccessful. Why? Why were the walls so hard to break? He only managed to break down only half of them all. Bill thought it would be easy! A child can't protect itself and its mind like an adult!

Oops. The infant is crying again. Bill realizes even if he didn't made his way in the young mind, he still left something. This kid is gonna be sick, and he won't know why.

The author nearly lost his mind. His son is sickening and he can do nothing but watch it.

So what? The baby will be sick in the future, and most likely he won't be cured, because it isn't a normal sickness. Also, there might be one side effect or two. The kid will never be able to control his temper, that's for sure. On the bright side (yes, there is one) when the body would be fully grown, it would be very easy for Bill to posses it. Hurray!

* _ **Present**_ **_Time_** *

* ** _In_** _**The** **Mind** **Scape**_ *

The demon cheered happily. "Yes! Pine Tree and Shooting Star have met!" he banged his fist in the air "Yes! My plan is finally becoming real." he laughed hard "Fez won't be able to go against me, not if I have his daughter's life in my hands. Ohh. Pine Tree. All of them are tied to you, and you don't even know it. Bloody Heart. Fez. Six Fingers. Shooting Star. Even sweet insane McGucket has a connection with you!"

A roared 'yes' echoed in the mind scape. "Pine Tree will help me bring my plans to a total success. I have Pine Tree. I have them all. And no one, NO ONE, not even the author of the journals will be able to stop me then."

A silent pause before another roar of words "I'LL DOMINATE THE WORLD AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP ME!"

"Keep it down Cipher! Will ya?"

Bill turned to glare at the other demon "Why don't YOU keep it down, Harper? I'm trying to have a dramatic moment here, and you just ruined it!"

 ** _*Somewhere_** _**In**_ _**Another** **Dimension**_ *

He fell on his all fours overly tired. He finally managed to beat all the aliens, before they cooked him alive and ate him from skin to bones.

Fifteen years, and he's still getting used to his surroundings. Always in a different dimension, with different aliens, with different enemies, very few allies.

He crawled himself deep into a cave. His left leg and his right shoulder were severely damaged in that fight for survival.

"At least it was worth it" Ford muttered bandaging his leg "With each fight, I get stronger." a small smile made its way on his face "With each fight I survive, there is a chance for me to get to see my Dipper again."

Then nostalgia filled him up. "I missed already fifteen years of his life, sixteen, in two months, three weeks, and four days... Does he know about me? Does he miss me?" tears welled up, and his voice began to choke "Does he have a good life? Does he even know how much I love him, or how much I miss him?"

He sobbed his tears and shook his head. Crying about his problems won't solve them. He searched his coat and took out the piece he stole from those aliens. Then he got up and limped deep in the cave, the portal was still there.

"Soon I will finish it" he smiled proudly at his work. "Soon Dipper. Just wait for me a little longer."

This was the only thing motivating him to keep surviving.

 _ ***** **Back** **To** **The** **Mind**_ **_Scape_** *

"Oh. Fordsy, Fordsy, Fordsy. Look at you, getting all so emotional over your precious son again" Bill said "That's too bad. I'd be so willing to help you if I wasn't so busy planning to destroy you"

* _Reality_ *

 ** _*_ _To_** **_The_ _Mystery_ _Shack_** *

For how long he slept, Dipper didn't know. What he knew for sure, is that if Stan catches him, here, with Mabel, he's going into an early grave. Which Dipper doesn't want to happen, you see, he likes that thing called 'life' and he wants to keep living it.

Carefully, he got off the bed. He didn't want to leave the impression that somebody was here besides Mabel. Talking about Mabel, she's sleeping like a log, hugging a pink pig plushie. And before you ask, the rest or her plushies are surrounding her bed.

He managed to get downstairs undetected. On the right side of the stairs is the TV room. He can hear Stan's shouts "Fight! Fight! Fight!" is he watching that show Baby Fights? Duude, that's so messed up! If he could only get a moment of Stan being distracted, he could slip through the front door unseen.

"Mr Pines. Do you think I should fix the 'S' in the Mystery Shack?" Soos called up from the roof "Without it, it spells the Mystery Hack. Tourists might think we're trying to scam them."

Stan groaned and went outside to expain it all to Soos. Again. Dipper went to the back of the hall and glued himself on the wall, his body form being hid by an old wardrobe, and after he made sure Stan went to the backyard, Dipper vanished through the front door.

He returned a little later to the Mystery Shack, and entered the shop intentionally, to check if Mabel is up.

"What's up Dip-Dop?" she waved to him from the counter, with a bright smile, like they haven't seen each other in years.

"Someone slept well, I presume" Dipper smiled. He must admit that he did too.

"Yes! And that someone is me!" she cheered spinning around "It's been so long since I've slept so well, and now I am full of energy!"

"And what made it so special?" Dipper was curious. They've both slept well in a room that he has never been in before. That's weird, and worth an investigation.

Mabel stopped, and made a thinking face. "For me. I think it was because of you. I hate sleeping alone since forever, and here, there's nobody else besides me and my dad. So..when I went to sleep, knowing you were right by my side, I had a peaceful rest."

"That's logical and illogical in the same time, you know?" Dipper pointed out, but Mabel chose to shrug her shoulders. Just then Dipper's blood ran cold. His breath froze. His body tensed. And his mouth went dry.

"Well, kiddo, you're the exact person I was looking for!" he was too afraid to turn around and look at Stan Pines. That man could turn people to stones only by his words. Correction. Not people. _Boys_.

"Dad. Not again" Mabel whined. That's the reason why she has very few boy friends.

"It's alright brown sugar. I've got this." when he was talking to her, he was fine. But when he turned back to Dipper, the young teen forgot how to breath normally. "What the heck were you doing in _my_ house with **_my_** daughter? You better have a good explication, or I'll use eleven of my ten guns on you!"

"S-sir." Dipper said turning around to face Stan "It's not what it looks like." it was Stan's turn to become scared. Facing that kid for the first time. He is a total resemblance of Ford, but, cooler. What the-?

"Tell me your name kid!" Stan told him sharply. He mustn't tie to any hope. After all, it might be an illusion. Or his imagination. Or...anything else.

"My name is Dipper!" it was Stan's turn to freeze in shock.

With no other words, he turned around and left the room, and Dipper and Mabel, to look at each other uneasily.


	19. Chapter 19

"That was..." Dipper paused, shaking his head, looking for the right word to say.

"Weird." Mabel finished, both looking at the empty space where Stan stood a few moments ago, kinda freaked out too. "To be honest, I expected him to blow your head by now... this is really weird." And a new territory for them all.

"And yet, I still have my head on my shoulders glued to my neck" Dipper added "I don't know if I should consider it luck or anything else." he pointed over his shoulder"What if he comes back, and actually blows my head, but he also went to get a camera to record it?"

"I'd say... We should go before he comes back. For your sake."

"Good idea" then his initial mood returned "Hey I have an idea about where to go!"

"The forest?" Mabel beamed

"Nope." Dipper grinned "Even better."

"Then what are we waiting for? A kiss on the cheek? Let's go!" the girl ran outside "I'll race you there!" she shouted

"Wait!" He ran after her "First, you don't even know where we are going-"

"Doesn't matter!"

"Second, I won't lose to a girl! Argh! Mabel!"

 _ ***To Stan***_

He went to the bathroom, feeling like he's going to puke everything he ate today. He shut the door behind himself and he leaned on the door, before he slid down on the floor. He stood there for a while, staring at nothing, before he got up and splashed his face three times with ice cold water.

"I can't believe it." he mutters, drying his face with a towel.

"This isn't possible" he puts the towel away.

"After all these years.." he finally makes the courage to look at his reflection. "Your son is back Ford." he says to the reflection like it's his twin in there. "Your son is finally back!"... he laughed weakly "Not exactly like you wanted to, but don't worry Sixer. I'll take care of it."

 _ ***To Dipper And Mabel***_

"So... Mabel, you've already met the gang" he told her "So, I guess it's not gonna bother you if they'll join us, right?"

"Not at all. Just like my dad always says, the more people to join us, the more money they will spend."

"Your dad's awesome"

"I know...hi guys!" she waved to them with a bright smile

"Hi Mabel!" Lee, Thompson, and Nate waved back to her. Tambry saluted her for one second before her attention went back to her phone. But where is-?

"Guys!" Robbie. "Who's in for a wild ride?" he asked with a big grin as he came driving a van, the one Mabel saw with Wendy. "Oh" he said, realizing she was there too, his cheeks turning a little pink. "What's up girl?" he chose to play it cool, but his mind was all like ' _Damn_ _you_ _Dipper_ '

"I don't know about this guy, but I'm totally in!" she laughed, punching Dipper playfully in the shoulder.

"Come with us! Come with us!" the gang chanted all at once.

"I mean if that's okay with you too" she said quietly to Robbie, rubbing her arm, while the gang kept chanting, feeling suddenly a little bit more awkward than usual.

"Pff. I'm fine with it." he looked away trying to play it cool again "Alright dudes, everybody in! Let's go! Thompson! You're driving this time, I'm too lazy." they cheered loudly, as Thompson sighed dropping his shoulders. Then he got on the driver's seat. Tambry next to him, Lee and Nate behind, and behind Lee and Nate, were Robbie with Mabel in the middle and Dipper.

"Tambry claims she has better signal if she sits on the passenger's seat. In truth, she just likes to sit in the front" Dipper leaned it to tell her.

"I heard you bus boy!" she threw an empty can of Pitt cola, aiming for his head, but he moved just in time to dodge it laughing.

"There it is, guys." Robbie announced when they reached their destination. "The condemned Dusk 2 Dawn! Some folks died in there, the place has been haunted ever since!"

"This town has such a colorful history" Mabel exclaimed happily, they all jumped over the fence and when she was straddling it, she thought she saw a strange kid staring at her from far away. Shaking her head, thinking she had too much sugar in her cupcake sugar-only, she jumped.

 _ ***A Few Hours Later***_

"That was so freaking amazing and scary in the same time"

"I know." Dipper replied while taking her home. He was driving, and the others were sleeping in the back seats. "But it was a great night, don't you agree?"

"Totally." Mabel laughed. "So. What great mystery are we solving tomorrow?"

"The biggest one yet, is the identity of the author. Who wrote the journals? Did he ran away? Why was he running away and from what? I'm telling you. Some great is happening right under our noses and we don't even know it!"

"Do you have any clues about this guy?"

"Nothing." he shrugged "I know nothing. He doesn't reveal his identity in the journals. All he gives away is that he had some precious _treasure_ he lost, which made him really really upset."

"Did you try to ask around or something? This is usually attracting people, like old ladies."

"No. And I don't intent to. The people in town will think I went totally nuts. However, this guy _was_ in Gravity Falls, but he either left, or he either disappeared...what are you thinking about?" he asked, seeing her intense thinking face. It was big and obvious and you had to be stupid not to observe it.

"How cool would it be if all this was in a cartoon show?"

"I know! I'd watch every second of it!"

Without any other words spoken during the ride, just a peaceful silence, as peaceful as the snores from the gang can be, only when Mabel got home, she realized how tired she was. Dipper left her in front of her house, then he bid her 'good night' and drove off.

She attempted to enter quietly through the front door, tip toe the stairs and slip into the attic, all without Stan noticing or hearing her. However, the rustling coming from behind told her the sneak in had to wait.

She turned around, but she didn't see anything unusual. She pursed her lips. Dipper was already gone, Stan was probably sleeping upstairs, and if she screamed, Stan would know about her sneaking out.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. And without opening them again, she grabbed the person's arm. Whoever it was, tried to grab her when she wasn't looking. But Mabel Pines isn't someone to be messed with.

She grabbed the person's arm, gave a quick leg in the stomach, and tackled him or her to the ground, her hand around the neck... Stan would be so proud of his baby girl right now.

"Who are you?" Mabel asked, feeling a little guilty. It was a boy, who looked younger than her, definitely the shy and scared type. He made a few gagged sounds and Mabel got off him, allowing him to breathe properly.

He coughed a few times to regain his voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you."

"I know you" Mabel said getting a better look of him "You were the one I saw when I was jumping over the fence at Dusk 2 Dawn!"

"Listen. I don't have much time now." he seemed very agitated and he kept looking around. "You seem such a sweet girl. That's why I wanted to warn you. Especially when I saw you with him."

"With who?" She was kind of freaked out, she had to admit. The kid just popped out of nowhere!

"Pine Tree!" he whispered, shivering at the name itself. "Please stay away from him!" who the hell was Pine Tree? Was this kid high or something? "He's been terrorizing people since summer began! He's not what he seems!"

"Look. I don't know any Pine Tree, so if you could-"

"Yes you do!" he insisted. He was already getting on her nerves. And she wasn't someone to get easily annoyed. Stan is her father for freak's sake! "You'll see what I'm talking about later. Everyone will see. Just be careful and keep your eyes open. Hey, I've got to go now, but I promise I'll tell you more later." he got up and started to run towards the forest.

"At least, let me know your name!" Mabel shouted, he turned around and gave her a small smile.

"I'm Tate. Tate McGucket."

Mabel seriously thought the kid needs help from a mental hospital. What the hell? He comes to warn her. He claims he saw her with Pine Tree. Who is this Pine Tree after all? And why was Tate so terrified over him?

With all those question running through her head, she went uneasily to bed. And the nightmare she had, made it only worse.

 _Mabel's Dream_

She found herself in the middle of a fire circle. So many voices are calling her name, but she can't recognize any. She's on all her fours. Panting so hard, hurt so bad, she can't recall how she had gotten herself in this situation.

Those voice call her name desperately. They tell her to get away as fast as possible. But she only manages to raise her head, in time to see a figure, literally walking trough the fire.

It's...a boy. He doesn't burn himself. The fire actually makes him feel good. All she can see clearly is his blue hat with a Pine Tree on it.

"D-Di" she coughs. Her neck feels too rough. She can't say a single word.

Dipper walked to her with the most sadistic smile she had ever seen. He was holding his left eye, which was bleeding badly, but he didn't seem to feel the pain...or to care about it. The blood was everywhere on his face, but the sadistic smile remained the same.

"When gravity falls. And earth becomes sky. Fear the me with the golden eyes!"

Then his eyes started to glow. A bright yellow light. It blinded her for a moment...and then she woke up.


	20. Chapter 20

**_A/N: Sorry. There was a problem, and I had to delete this chapter and post it again._**

"And then we decided to return to that haunted shop, but this time just the two of us, with Wendy, because she didn't believe a word we said." she giggled "And it was actually worse than the first time! Oh, and you won't believe this! When we returned, and it was only me and her, by how she was speaking and acting, I realized she developed like the _biggest_ crush on Dipper!"

"Sounds like you're having fun sweetie" her mother replied

Two mornings later, when she was speaking on the phone with her baby girl, Carla was on current with every adventure Mabel had. Not believing her on the magical parts, but thinking she has a great imagination and so creative, like always.

"Yes, mom. Summer so far has been great"

"And from what you've told me so far, that boy, Robbie has a huge crush on you" it was her mother's turn to giggle

"She's not getting a boyfriend until she's our age Carla!" Stan shouted, loud enough for his ex to hear him.

"Dad/Stan" the two girls whined, knowing Stan Pines would be the only one to say that.

"Urgh. Girls." was her father's response, before he returned his attention to the newspaper, occasionally sipping from his coffee.

"You know Stan, you should try to find someone too" Carla said, with some sort of sympathy in her voice. Mabel's smile grew immediately, thinking how a date would go with the three of them and their partners.

"If I do that, then who would torment the boys in our daughter's life?" And of course. Stan was against it.

"How about you leave them alone?" his ex girlfriend suggested. But she was lying and she knew it. Secretly she enjoyed how overprotective Stan can get about their daughter.

"No can do Carla. I'm having way too much fun; I'll stop when it won't be fun anymore."

"Which is never!" Stan, Carla and Mabel said in the same time. The three of them shared a long laugh. Soon, after the conversation was over, and after they had breakfast, Stan and Mabel went into the town for grocery shopping. Mostly because when she poured the milk, Mabel realized she could eat it instead of drinking it. Which was totally 'yuck'. Stan agreed to go, because the smell of that 'milk' was intoxicating his lungs, damaging them more than his cigars would. On the road they made fun of Soos who, before they left, got in a fight with Gompers over a dropped hamburger on the floor. Let's say Soos won't be feeling well for a while.

"Pull over!" Mabel shouted suddenly, scaring Stan and making him lose control of the wheel and hit some trash cans.

"What? What happened? Are you okay?"

She undid her seat belt and hurriedly got out of the car. "Come on, you've got to see this." She led him to a very crowded place, and made way for them up to the front lines. He knows Mabel better than anyone in this town, but this wasn't making any sense. Wait! Is it one of Gideon's shows? Of, it is, he'll ground her!

"Muffin? What's the meaning of this?" then he saw Ford's son, Dipper, in the center. He was with some other weirdo's, each having a different musical instrument. Dipper was holding a violin, and spared a glance at his friends, who they all nodded at him. He nodded too, turned his head back to the crowd and took a breath. Then he began, first it was only him. Stan would lie if he said the kid didn't rock that violin. Then the other began to accompany him, creating a certain rhythm that made people dance on it. **_(Link for the song: watch?v=2DaRhiCKGMk)_**

 _ **Years ago, when I was younger**_  
 _ **I kinda liked, a girl I knew**_  
 _ **She was mine, and we were sweethearts**_  
 _ **That was then, but then it's true**_

Well would you look at that? The kid's got a voice too. Is certainly Ford's boy?

 ** _I'm in love, with a fairytale_**  
 ** _Even though it hurts_**  
 ** _Coz I don't care if I lose my mind_**  
 ** _I'm already cursed_**

He can take the high notes? What the heck? He remembers in high school how hard it was for him to learn to play the guitar, singing was even harder. The kid seems to be born with the lessons already learned!

 ** _Everyday, we started fighting_**  
 ** _Every night, we fell in love_**  
 ** _No one else, could make me sadder_**  
 ** _But no one else, could lift me high above_**

 ** _I don't know, what I was doing_**  
 ** _When suddenly, we fell apart_**  
 ** _Nowadays, I cannot find her_**  
 ** _But when I do, we'll get a brand new start_**

Mabel and the other people in town cheer very loudly. The band they have most likely will be the most successful one in town. Even Soos appeared from nowhere and he was cheering for them along with Mabel.

 ** _I'm in love, with a fairytale_**  
 ** _Even though it hurts_**  
 ** _Coz I don't care if I lose my mind_**  
 ** _I'm already cursed_**

And here comes the hard part. There is a slight pause from singing, playing only the instruments. It means the high notes are coming.

 ** _She's a fairytale, yeah_**  
 ** _Even though it hurts_**  
 ** _Coz I don't care if I lose my mind_**  
 ** _I'm already cursed_**

His mouth falls open at how well he can take the high notes. He's totally shocked. They finish with a total bang. Not even Stan can stop himself to applause them. They were too freaking good! But, to be honest, Dipper had outdone them all. People literally throw their money to them, and they deserved it.

"You liked it? I remembered Dipper told me they were prepared a moment for today, and I wanted you to see it!" Mabel said. Stan was still with his mouth open. "Wow. It's better than I thought, you know.. I was thinking..." she began to rub her arm with her hand. She was usually doing that when she was proposing something she knew he won't agree with. "Do you mind if I invite Dipper over for dinner?"

He stood for a moment to think of it. This was his chance!

"I don't mind."

Her face brightened up "Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she gave him a very tight hug, and ran over to Dipper.

 _'Ford...if only you were here to see this... you would be so proud.'_

 ** _*In The Evening*_**

"Umm, I know I shouldn't ask because you might change your mind but... what made you allow Dipper to come over for dinner?" Mabel asked, cooking by Stan's side.

"Well, what can I say?" Stan babbled "The kid is intriguing me"

"You better not like him better than me!" Mabel laughed punching his shoulder playfully.

"Not a chance. Precious" he kissed her head affectionately.

"I'll open it!" Mabel shouted, after they both heard a knock on the door. "Hi Dipper"

"Hi Mabes" he smiled "Hi Mr. Pines"

"What's up kiddo?"

"Thanks for inviting me, I'll eat your food, steal your gold when you're not looking, and be on my way" he joked

"Heh. Before you do that, I'll give money to charity"

"Challenge accepted"

Stan felt that he will easily bond with Dipper. He's cool, talented, confident, and more... which made Stan wonder how the heck such a cool kid came from the biggest nerd ever? That's a total mystery.

 ** _*To Another Dimension*_**

He had to be sure before he acted. He carefully moved the hair on his forehead, and revealed the birthmark. He leaned in and kissed it briefly before he hugged tightly the boy. "Dipper. My son. After all this years, I can't believe I've found you!" his body was shaking, and he clearly needed to sit down, but he refused to break the hug. He refused to let go. "Fifteen years and now you're finally back to me"

The boy returned the hug, enjoying to be wrapped in such warmth. "Doesn't matter, okay? Forget it" he said "We've been reunited after so long. I don't even want to hear about the past. All I care for now is the future. My future with you." Dipper pulled away and looked his father in the eye "I love you so much _dad_." he said with a smile

Hearing those words for the very first time made him have tears of happiness in his eyes. He hasn't had this type of tears since Susan saved them both from freezing to death. After such a long time. Ford. Was. Finally. Happy.

"Too bad I'm here to ruin it all sixer!" a voice cried.

Suddenly the surroundings and Dipper disappeared. He woke up with a start, and found himself tied with chains.

"So long since I've seen you. Boy, you've changed" an alien spoke to him coming closer. Golden eyes with slitted pupils told Ford how the alien was able to speak his language.

"Bill" he growled, glaring hard at the demon. "What do you want from me? How did you even find me?"

"Already forgotten that I'm always watching? I'm sad. I thought I meant more to you." he moved closer and roughly grabbed Ford's face "And what I want... is for you to watch how I destroy your work" Bill turned Ford's head powerfully, nearly snapping his neck. Ford gasped in shock, and struggled to break free.

"No. No. NO! STOP IT! NO! PLEASE!"

Other aliens, looking exactly like the one Bill was possessing right now, were destroying the portal Ford worked so hard to build. They were spitting different acids from their mouth, melting the portal into something disgusting and toxic.

"BILL! PLEASE! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! JUST STOP IT!"

Bill grabbed his head roughly again "Look sixer. You're way to close to return to Gravity Falls. Pine Tree is what I need to rule the world, and with you around, that would be pretty impossible. Don't hold it against me. Or do it. I DON'T CARE" he laughed.

Ford watched hopelessly how Bill destroyed his only chance to see his son ever again.


	21. Chapter 21

"So...Dipper right?" he cleared his throat, trying to act subtle "Got any relatives or something? I mean I haven't seen you around before, did you just move here?"

"Well, I've been here only for a few months. But I was either at the Junkyard with the guys, either in the forest. I never really went into the town. Only since summer began I did, because we started our street shows. And no I've got no relatives, or I have, but I am not aware of their existence. I mean, I don't even know if 'Dipper' really is my name. You know?"

"Yeah" Mabel jumped in "He's got a cool birthmark on his forehead, just like Big Dipper! That's where the name comes from!" she pushed the hair from his forehead away, to show it. And then, any doubt was deleted. Stan finally made his brother's wish come true. Just... not in the way he wanted to.

"Heh...that's kind of weird, but I gotta say, the name fits you. Seems like a dork's name, and you _remind_ me of one" Stan teased, then extended his hand towards his nephew with a knowing smirk "Now, how about you give the hat back kid? Don't like thieves, and there's no way you can fool the master" he spoke proudly of himself. Dipper gave a goofy grin, and reached out to his back where he hid the hat.

"Sorry." he apologized "Street life really got me. I'm not used to any kind of rules. Plus, I really liked this Pine Tree hat." he took a moment to spin it around on his finger, before putting it on his head. "Ehh, what do you think?" Grinning, he showed off how good it looked on him.

"Keep it kid."

"Really?" that has caught Dipper off guard; he almost fell off the chair.

"What's the catch old man?" Mabel asked narrowing her eyes. Something smelled bad to her. And it was not their dinner burning in the oven.

"Wait. There's a catch?" that made the boy feel uncertain about keeping the hat or not, and began to think it's best to leave before he's messed up in something.

"Of course it is" she told Dipper, and then turned to her dad with the same look as earlier "I know you Stan. I know you."

Stan turned to her and his narrowed at her too. Silence. Nothing. Stare. Stare. They were getting closer to each other's faces and their looks were darkening as they approached. Dipper looks at them interested. More staring. Their eyes start to tear up, and it's obvious neither of them wants to give up. Dipper looks at them both, his eyes going from Stan to Mabel, and from Mabel to Stan with a confused face.

Then Stan lets out a defeated sound and finally blinks. Mabel cheers loudly, throwing her fists up in the air.

"Ha! I won! I am the best" she shouted, pointing to herself "Mabel's rocking the waves surfers. BOOYAH!"

"You never stop making your daddy proud, eh?" Stan grinned, ruffling her hair affectionately "Kid, it's simple. For three days, you'll have to work at the Mystery Shack." too late to escape now. Dang, he waited too long.

"WHAT?"

"And I will not pay you. But, in return you can keep the hat. And every time something happens to it, I'll replace it with a new one from the stock." actually, it's very tempting.

"Hmm..." the boy scratched the back of his head. He never worked in his life before, so he doesn't have any idea what to do. And he's not the type to give up on something he desires. And he really wants that hat. But... to work? And not steal?

"Dipper! Say yes! Say yes!" Mabel screamed in his ears, giving him a quite breath taking hug. Her eyes grew big and shiny, already forming movies in her head about how they will spend their time together, she gestured with her hand in the air. "I will blow your brains with all my crushes, and my art, and my life style. And we can knit sweaters together! And talk about crushes and boy bands! Say how much you love Sev'ral Timez from a scale of one to infinite!?"

From listening to Mabel's excited rant, to Stan, who was spinning the hat on his finger with a cheesy grin, to work at the Mystery Shack, to have the hat, and to his decision... there wasn't a long way.

"It's a deal!" he stood and shook hands with Stan

"Good choice kid" he praised, putting the Pine Tree hat on Dipper's head.

"WOO! Ow! Ow" she closed her eyes, feeling them sore. Definitely from what whatever she and Stan had earlier. "My eyes hurt. They hurt." she was rubbing them to make the pain go away.

"Urgh? What is that smell? No offense guys, but if this is your dinner, I'll have to leave" Dipper complained, pulling his shirt over his nose.

"Ah crap! The chicken is burning!" Stan shouted. Then the frying pan was on fire too. "Ah, double crap. Honey, do some of your flips and get me the fire extinguisher!"

"Right away, Mabel will save the day!" she punched the air, before doing a perfect back flip over the kitchen table and successfully getting the extinguisher. She did another perfect one, this time front flip, and handed it over to Stan. In the mean time, Dipper ran to the living room, where he began to cough uncontrollably. When Mabel reached him, he had stopped and he was taking deep breaths to calm his beating heart.

"H-How did you d-do that?" he asked her

"When I was younger I used to be a professional junior gymnast. Champion three times in a row actually." she pointed to some pictures on the wall. One was showing her dad, presumably her mother, and herself with a golden medal around her neck. She was in the middle with one eyes closed and her tongue sticking out, on the left side was her dad with a proud grin pointing to Mabel's medal, and the woman on the right was simply smiling to the camera.

"But?" he knew there was a 'but'. There's always a 'but'.

She sighed and looked down. "One day, during a very important competition, somehow I tripped at the balance beams and broke my leg really bad and hit my head hard. I still have no idea how it happened. I quitted the team since then, and now I only do some tricks for the fun of it. Or important cases, like the one from a few moments ago. Or to make happy my plush toys." Mabel giggled remembering something "I used to make them all judges and try to corrupt them with their favorite sweets to give me straight ten. Your turn."

"Well it's a birth defect, which somehow got cured, but I was cursed by a demon to have it back."

"Whaaaaaat?"

"Never make a deal with Bill!" he told her with a very serious face "He's a dream demon, who would do anything to possess anyone. Here, it's written in the journal." he pulled out the journal and flipped it until he got to Bill's page. Then he showed Mabel " _B_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _̶_ _p_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _v_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _f_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _̶_ _b_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _f_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _̶_ _f_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _d_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _d_ _̶_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _w_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _d_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _v_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _d_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _I_ _̶_ _'_ _̶_ _v_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _v_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _c_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _d_ _̶_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _f_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _._ _̶_ _̶_ _W_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _̶_ _g_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _!_ _̶_ _̶_ _I_ _̶_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _̶_ _c_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _'_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _h_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _._ _̶_ _̶_ _N_ _̶_ _o_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _v_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _̶_ _w_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _y_ _̶_ _,_ _̶_ _̶_ _B_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _̶_ _i_ _̶_ _s_ _̶_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _r_ _̶_ _u_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _̶_ _g_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _t_ _̶_ _l_ _̶_ _e_ _̶_ _m_ _̶_ _a_ _̶_ _n_ _̶_ _._ _̶_ _BILL CAN'T BE TRUSTED! Beware Bill. The most powerful and dangerous creature_ _I've ever encountered. Whatever you do, never let him into your mind. DO NOT SUMMON AT ALL COSTS!"_

"Ish. Is that real blood?" Mabel touched the red part

"Probably. Seems like even the Author was tricked by Bill. And so was I." Dipper said, putting back the journal in his vest. "Heh. We have something in common."

"How?"

"First time I ever came to Gravity Falls, he appeared in one of my dreams. He promised me he will tell me everything about my family and where I can find them. Instead I had to give him my body for an undetermined period of time. I told him I needed another night to think of, because having a real family means everything to me, maybe one day I'll tell you why. Whatever, the next day I found the journal and I canceled the deal. Bill got mad and cursed me to be as I was before."

Stan entered the living room, coughing up dark smoke. "Well kids, the bad news is that the kitchen can't be used for the rest of the day. Good news is that we're ordering pizza." A few hours later, Stan was sitting on the yellow chair, with Dipper and Mabel on his left and right side, all watching the newest episode of Duck-tective, eating the remaining slices of pizza. After the show ended, Mabel was snoring on the floor, and Dipper yawned, barely keeping his eyes open.

"It's late." he said, after Stan carried Mabel upstairs. "I should probably go" he managed to stand up, and walk to the door; he touched the door knob, when Stan popped the question.

"In the attic where Mabel sleeps, there's a spare bed kid. Would you like to stay over for the night?"

 ** _*A/N: Having Mabel to be a professional gymnast was inspired by Nina Dobrev. Since she does gymnastics in the real life, and in my story Mabel is portrayed by Nina, I said, why not?*_**


	22. Chapter 22

Dipper accepted the offer before Stan could finish the question, and darted upstairs to the attic. Stan smiled to himself and went to sleep too. The next morning, he decided he will take Mabel and Dipper to fishing. He had finally found a good way to use the old Stan O'War and revive some good old memories...

But when they got to the lake, before Mabel was ready to install her fishing flirt mode with some hotties she laid eyes on, an old man began to scream around like her dad in the shower when soap gets in his eyes.

"I SEEN IT! I SEEN IT AGAIN! The Gravity Falls Gobblewonker! Come quick before it scrabdoodles awaaaay!"

A kid ran to him through the crowd "Hey, hey! Now what did I tell you about scaring people dad?!"

He dropped his shoulders ashamed, poking his fingers "That I shouldn't scare people with myths, only with true things."

Huh... She didn't know that fourteen year old Tate McGucket was there too. He would not say he's embarrassed about his father's behavior. He's been like this for so long that Tate got used to it. How he got so insane though, it's a total mystery.

"But this time it's true! I swear I seen it!" he pointed at his boat "BEHOLD! It's the Gobble-dy-wonker what done did it! It had a long neck like a gee-raffe! And wrinkly skin like...like this gentleman right here! _"_ he pointed to Stan

"Hey!" Stan was offended

"It chawed my boat up to smitheroons, and shim-shammed over to Scuttlebutt Island! YOU GOTTA BELIEVE ME!"

Sheriff Blubs chuckled "Attention all units! We got ourselves a crazy old man!" everyone, besides the Pines, laughs and points at old man McGucket.

Tate shook his head and walked away. The hair on his neck stood up instantly when he felt Dipper intense glare. He bent down and took a stone, but Tate ran away before Dipper could throw the stone at him. So he crushed it in his fist, a thin line of sand falling after.

"The Legend of the Gobblewonker." Dipper muttered, looking at the lake with a determined look on his face.

"The what?" Mabel asked

"Just like the monster of Loch Ness, only it is Gravity Falls." he told her "Who gets a picture of it, gets rewarded with a thousand dollars. If you help me we can split the prize 50/50."

"I am 1,000,000% on board with your plan Dipper! Let's find it! What are we waiting for?!" Mabel got very excited thinking about the human-sized hamster ball that she wishes to buy with 500 dollars. Ah, just the thought of having it, lights her imagination up.

"No!" Stan told them sharply "You two are not going in some dangerous adventure to find some mystical monster! I didn't get you out of a day's work to fool around."

"And why not?" Dipper crossed his arms "I can do whatever I want to do. You have no parental rights towards me."

 _'I have more than you think kid'_ Stan thought glaring at him. Definitely he got Ford's stubbornness too.

"Actually..." Mabel said rubbing her right arm nervously and looking away

 _'Aw, come on! Not my daughter too!'_

"I'd like to go with him. Not that fishing is fun!" she added quickly

"It isn't." the boy said grumpily

"But chasing monsters is just a tiny bit more fun than fishing..."

"Way more."

"Dipper!" she scolded him

"What?" he played innocently "It's the truth after all."

 _'Remember what he said Stan. He grew up on the streets, he has no education, he never went to school and he doesn't know what respect is...you can't punch him. Even if you want it so badly.'_ Stan closed his eyes and told himself mentally, keeping inside a few gestures and kind words for his dear nephew he'd rather have not them heard by his daughter. _'Damn. He really looks like Poindexter too and you really want to punch Poindexter.'_

"What's up dudes?"

"SOOS!" the kids shouted excitedly. Stan breathed out in relief. A few more words from the boy and he would've lashed out.

"Wanna use my boat for your monster hunt? It has everything a boat needs."

"Monster hunt! Monster hunt!" the kids chanted together.

"Wait! Wait! Think this through before you make a decision." Stan said gesturing with his hands in the air and eyes closed. But when he opened them, the kids and Soos were gone and cheering loudly. Damn... He was totally sure they would ditch Soos to stay with him. Who doesn't want to spend ten hours on a boat, with a great joke book (uncle approved), and a whole box of creepy fishing lures? Ingrates...

The trio disembarks and ventures into the foggy woods. Dipper is leading the group while carrying a lantern. They soon come to a large sign nailed to a tree that says "Scuttlebutt Island." Soos and Mabel stop in front of it.

"Dude, check it out." Soos covers the "Scuttle" part of the sign and it results in _..._ "Butt Island."

"Soos, you rapscallion!" Mabel and Dipper laugh, then they hear a noise somewhere in the distance. "What was that? Soos was it your stomach?"

"Nah, my stomach normally sounds like whale noises." the kids look at each other with curious faces, and lean on each side of Soos' stomach listening the whale noises.

"So cool." they say in awe.

"Wait." Mabel said "If it wasn't Soos, then what was that noise?"

Dipper's look turned dark. "I think I have an idea of _who_ made that noise." he signaled them to stay silent as he went into the deep fog. A few punching and kicking sounds were heard, and then someone was kicked out of the fog. Mabel's eyes widened realizing it's Tate. Dipper came out of the fog, and grabbed Tate by his shirt, with his fists, lifting him up to his face. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Dipper! Leave him alone!"

"I-I can explain!"

"Then do it!"

"DIPPER!"

"FINE!" he shouted to her, letting go of Tate, who fell on the ground.

"Ouch."

"You're okay little dude?" Soos asked, going to his side.

"I-I'm fine." he said dusting himself off, when he looked at Dipper he went back to the fully scared mode. "I wasn't following you I swear it!" he bit his lip and looked away poking his fingers. "I-I was just checking out the island, because of what my dad said. He might be kind of... out of his mind, but I always check his stories. I-I... I like to believe that a long time ago he wasn't like that."

"Dude, you have to be careful. We've heard some weird monster noises just before Dipper spotted you." Soos said

The teen boy slapped his forehead with a groan "Soos? _He_ was making those noises."

"Actually, it wasn't me. But I heard those sounds too, turned out there was a bunch of beavers with a rusty old chainsaw"

"Oh, even better." Dipper said ironically, rolling his eyes. He ran a hand over his face and sat on a rock "What're we gonna say to Stan? We ditched him over nothing." the rock he was sitting on began to shake "Guys...what's going on?" the rock sinks under the water. Dipper quickly gets up, just in time to see the Gobblewonker's silhouette swimming towards the island "Oh, fuck. We're dead." Mabel and Soos both hit him, making him fall face-on the ground.

"Language!"

"Umm...guys?" Tate said timidly. The trio turned to see the Gobblewonker right in front of them "Run."

 _ ***A Little Later***_

"I can't believe it." Dipper grunted after they got back to the Shack "A day we mostly lost for nothing." he laid down on the bed with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"I wouldn't say that" Mabel replied sticking some pictures they took today in her scrapbook "McGucket and Tate somehow renewed their freaky father-son relationship."

"Yeah, after we got almost killed because of that!"

"He just wanted to spend some time with his son... I think it's cute. The rest of the day we spend with my dad was awesome though, admit it!" she pointed the glue at him and added with a darker tone "Admit it, or die stuck in that bed for the rest of your life."

"Yes, I admit!" he said raising his hands up in defeat "Your dad's awesome. He is truly."

"Good." Mabel smiled proud of herself

"But I still think the McGuckets are weirdos!"

 ** _*To Tate*_**

He was sitting in a corner hugging himself, swinging back and forth with a terrified look plastered on his face. The boy he was sharing room with at the orphanage, woke up at the sound of a powerful scream and faced his mate sweaty and gasping for air. The boy wasted no time and ran for the Headmistress.

"Tate?" she asked in a gentle tone "Did you have a nightmare sweetheart?"

"I do not dream." he responded in a cold tone, a paper falling from his shaky hands "I see the future. I see what will happen before it happens."

The Headmistress picked up the paper and sighed. It is the same wheel with ten symbols he keeps drawing. Only this time, the Pine Tree symbol is crossed with a red 'X'. With no other words she got up and walked away from the child and the room itself. Mostly because he began to repeat those lines that always send a chill down her spine no matter how many times she keeps hearing them.

"When gravity falls, and earth becomes sky, fear the beast with just one eye."

One of the fellow workers asked her once "Headmistress, what do you suggest we do with him?"

"Nothing." she responded with a stern face "We will leave the poor child alone."

"But why?"

"Because there is nothing to be expected from a rape child. Especially not from one like him."

 _ ***To Dipper***_

He returned to the Junkyard to take some clothes. Apparently, when Stan offered him to stay over the night, he meant the other nights while he's working at the Mystery Shack too. He saw the gang gathered around in camp fire.

"Hi guys" he made his presence known "Ignore me. I just came for some clothes and then I'll be leaving again. Guys?"

No response. No retort. No nothing? Something must be wrong. They have all weird faces, like they're grieving the same person together.

"What the heck is going on?" Dipper started to freak out on the inside, feeling his heart beat rising. None of them turn to look at him, but they all look at Robbie. He sighs and gets up. He walks to the young boy with his hood pulled up.

"Kid... remember that cop who saved you and me, and helped us get to Gravity Falls?"

Dipper's eyes widened visibly and his breath froze in his chest. "Your uncle..." he is even afraid to ask. Robbie's uncle is the first person who ever showed him a bit of kindness. He swallowed nervously "What about him?"

"He send a letter... he searched every one of your adoptive families' houses and every orphanage you were in until he found your birth certificate. He says he read only your birth date, before it mysteriously burned away right in his hand." Robbie said. Hearing that Dipper felt relieved. "So... he is fine, right?"

"Yes he is..." Robbie looked at the ground and sighed again. Seriously, why did he have to be one to do this? "Remember also that Tambry's dad works as a mailman right?" Dipper nodded, he was still not seeing the point. And he was becoming irritated. "Today, there was another letter send." he took a few steps forward and handed it over to the younger boy. "The letter is actually a funeral invitation... for a boy who was born on August 31st, 2000. Who turns sixteen this year."

"And what does it got to do with me?"

"The letter also says the boy was last seen in Gravity Falls with his father when he was just a baby, so they decided to give it try and send it here too." Robbie holds a very intense gaze on Dipper, both looking in each other's eyes. "But the most distinguish sign about the boy is that he has a birthmark on his forehead shaped as the Big Dipper... kid I'm sorry to tell you this but... your mother is dead."


	23. Chapter 23

_* **Eleven**_ ** _Years Ago*_**

"Dipper, sweetheart, could you come here for a moment?"

"Yes." he pushed his drawing away, and got up from the floor. The orphanage is the only home he knows so far. And when Sister Anna calls him, it's usually because he had done something bad. He wonders what he had done this time, because he doesn't remember doing anything bad after the last time, which left Sister Mary without her favorite Dipper's-Bad-Deeds notebook.

But Miss Anna was very kind to him, and she always gave him sweets without anyone knowing. It was their little secret, which he promised to keep, otherwise he will get no more candies and disappoint Miss Anna. And he didn't want that.

"Have I done something bad?" he asked looking up at her. She seemed like a giant to him, but then again, all the adults seem like giants to him.

She laughed and gave him his favorite candy, which he quickly ate before anybody saw him with it. He liked it when she laughed. It made all the corridor sound so full of life when it's actually boring, old and grey. They walked downstairs, his small legs having a hard time to keep up, and they reached the Headmistress' Office. Alright, if he's not here because he has done something bad, then he must be here because he had done something terrible!

"Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" he wailed, grabbing her skirts in his small fists. "Please don't send me away! I like it here! I don't want to leave!"

Her eyes traded sudden sadness; she knelt on the floor to reach his level and ruffled his hair. "Sweetheart, we are not sending you away. But, some people have shown so much interest in you, and they want to adopt you, and to give you a home. A family." she looked in his big brown eyes and had to keep herself still to not shed any tears. She was too young and new to this job, and way too attached to this boy.

"But you are my family." he says in a small voice, pouting, hoping that will make her change her mind.

"Aww, Dipper." she can't resist anymore and takes him in her arms. Her eyes were wet, but still she did not cry. She had to be strong for him. "There will be a day when you and I will meet again." she says after pulling away. "Whatever you do in your life, whatever family you will have in the end, there will always be a place for you at my home and my table." her voice breaks and tears start to fall. "And no matter how many years will pass, I will never forget you Dipper. I hope you won't forget me as well, because I look forward meeting you again before God will call me to His heavens."

Miss Anna stood up and wiped away her tears. Straightening herself and dusting off her skirts, she takes little Dipper's hand in hers and together they walk into the Headmistress' office. They both sit quiet, as the formalities and the paper work are done, he is dangling his legs back and forth and doesn't raise his head up not even once.

And when gets in his new family's car, she waves at him, but he still doesn't look at her. The further his new family drives him away, the smaller the orphanage seems. He sees Miss Anna getting inside, and can only think about how lonely she must be now. He cries a few tears, and his new parents sooth him. _'They seem nice people, maybe they are not so bad as I thought them to be.'_ he thinks as they stop the car in front of a big house.

"Welcome to your new home." they said

And then, Dipper's hell began.

 _ ***Present Time***_

 _ ***Junkyard***_

His eyes travelled from Robbie to the gang, searching for any sign on their faces that would let him know it's all a joke. "Come on guys, why are you so down? Okay, sorry for ruining your joke. Try it again some other time and I promise, I'll act like you fooled me."

Robbie groaned and rubbed his eyes. He knew this would happen. "It's no joke Dips."

The young boy turned to look at him, with his hood up in the light made by fire, he looked much older than he actually was. For a moment he looked like an adult talking to his child, whether it is the fact that he has to take care of a bunch of homeless people or that he saved them all from death at least and he's only 18, Dipper doesn't know. "That's not possible." he speaks calmly to the person he considers his older brother, but his eyes were wild.

Robbie sighs at his stubborness, and lights up a cigarette. "It's very possible. Because it's true."

Dipper exploded then "CAN'T YOU HEAR ME? THAT'S NOT FUCKING POSSIBLE!"

 _ ***Mystery Shack***_

"I wonder what's taking him so long." Mabel said popping some popcorn into her mouth, currently watching an old movie which Stan claimed to be amazing... Mabel so far thought it was boring, very boring, and super boring.

"Kid must've gotten lost on his way, now shush honey. Lord Blumpomtof is about to find out who stole his treasure, his daughter, or his wife. I bet it's his sister! I never trusted her!"

Of course Stan was more interested in the movie than he was in Dipper's whereabouts. She rolled her eyes and was about to get off that warm and comfortable (in a way) yellow chair, and go out to look for Dipper. But then on the screen appeared a super hot boy, AND he was shirtless! When she asked Stan about him, he grunted and said.

"His name is Jonathan, rich, blond with blue eyes and muscles. He always walks around without wearing a shirt, it's disgusting!"

"Yes...yes it is." Mabel replied sitting back on the chair, making herself comfortable again, and her eyes locked on the TV screen. ' _Dipper will be fine! Wherever he is, I'm sure he's okay'_ she thought, eating some of Stan's popcorn.

 ** _*Back To The Junkyard*_**

Dipper was far from being fine. He was about to have a nerve crisis any moment. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKINGLY STUPID TO BELIEVE THIS?" he could not contain himself. With the gang, the subject 'family' is very touchy and brings only sadness or fury. So this whole time they were together, they spoke about their families and lives only once, after they made a rule which says that speaking about yours or anyone else's past is forbidden. Strictly forbidden.

"Look, look, look." Tambry said, getting the matter in her own hands "We haven't said we are 100% precisely sure that she is your mother." she put her hands on his shoulders "Who knows? She might not be. What Robbie is trying, and fails, to say, is that there's only one way to find out kiddo."

"I am not going." he shook his head "And that's not my mother!"

"But when there is a bun in the oven, usually it's made by two people." Thompson said quietly, and all heads turned to him with faces that said 'What?'

"Ohh, I get what he means." Nate cried, grinning proudly that he was first to realize it. "He means that whatever she is or she isn't your mom, you do have parents, brecasue at some point, your parents had sex and made you! Otherwise you wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Dude, you're so awesome for getting that!" Lee laughed punching his shoulder.

Dipper sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face "Alright. Fine... I do have parents and I do know that."

"Then what keeps you from finding out if this woman is really who she says she is?"

 _ ***A Little Later***_

"Fear." pause "Fear of the unknown, fear of the truth, and fear of disappointment."

After Dipper returned to the Mystery Shack, he found Stan had already fallen asleep on the chair and Mabel was eye-locked on the screen. At first she didn't even aknowledge his presence, but then the movie ended and she was all eyes and ears. She saw he was completely shaken up, and gesturing with his head, they silently walked upstairs to the attic, and currently they were cuddled up on his bed as he was telling her everything that happened.

"And what are you going to do?" she asked playing with the crucifix he was always wearing around his neck

"I don't know... I don't want to have any hope. I don't want to believe that woman is my mother and in reality she isn't. Or for her to actually be my mother, but to be disappointed with who she is. Or worse, to find out that she willingly gave me away and I am only a mistake to her..."

"And what if she has a very good reason for giving you away?" Mabel asked him.

"Then she would've found me by now." he replied to her, on a sharper tone than he had wanted to "Or if I am to be in her place, I'd search all over the world, find any possible contact, DO something! Not sit fifteen years with hands in my pockets and do nothing!"

"Then why do you do that?"

"What?" he looked down at her

"Why do you sit around and do nothing? Look, it will be a disappointment no matter what, because she is either a woman who has nothing to do with you or your life, either she is truly your mother and now she's gone." she pulled away and walked over her bed "But they were right. It's better to know and be sorry after, than to be sorry all your life for missing this opportunity."

"What are you joining their side? And here I thought you're my new best friend." Dipper laughed as she threw her pillow at him

"I AM your new best friend." she crossed her arms to her chest "And as your new best friend, I want what's best for you."

"Honestly, I don't know what to do Mabes..."

"Fortunately for you, I do." Mabel smiled, getting herself under the covers. "And tomorrow..." she paused and yawned "We'll look for any way to get to that address, and when I say we, I mean you and me."

"You're coming with me?" Dipper frowned, and Mabel nodded "But, what about your dad? He'll freak out if he doesn't find you anywhere in the house, and I don't think you can exactly tell him why you're leaving the town for a whole weekend with a boy you barely got to know." he tried to reason with her.

"I am not dummy." she giggled "Luckily for you, my dad will be out of the town for the weekend. Don't know why and don't care too much. Now good night Dips..."

"Sweet dreams girl." Dipper smiled at her sleeping form, and silently got off the bed and walked over the window. Gazing at the stars, he smiled again. He brought up to his lips the crucifix around his neck, and kissed it, thanking everyone up there for bringing someone like Mabel Pines in his life.

He made a decision. He was going to do it! He was going to the funeral to find out if that woman is really his biological mother! He was going to find out everything about his family ties, and why did they leave him. He will know everything about his parents!


	24. Chapter 24

When Dipper woke up the next day, he found that he did not want to rise from the bed. It was his official last night staying over at the Mystery Shack and his last working day. He realized that he did not want to leave this place just yet... He did not want to return to the cold Junkyard, he wanted to stay more with Stan and Mabel, well, excluding the over protective daddy Stan.

It was weird and foreign for him, because usually he doesn't hold any place at heart. He just comes and goes, and doesn't look back, holding no emotional attachment... but there's something about this place...

 _'It makes me feel like home... I don't even have a home.'_

He rose from the bed and sat on the edge of it looking over at Mabel, who was sleeping with her back to him. He yawned silently and stood still for a few seconds before he got up and quietly left the room. Walking downstairs, he reached the kitchen just in time to hear Stan's old car driving away, and Soos yelling goodbye like Stan was never going to come back.

Yawning again, he stretched his body as he walked to the fridge pulling out the milk. Soos came in and said morning, Dipper nodded feeling too lazy to reply.

"What's up little dude?"

"Nothing..." he muttered searching for a bowl, but having no success in finding it "Do you have any idea where Stan keeps the bowls?"

"You mean bowls like the one which is right under your nose, right now?" Soos pointed out

"Oh..." he was so tired, he did not even notice. He took it and left it on the table, opening a drawer and taking out a spoon, then taking out a box of cereals; he sat down again fighting back to fall asleep with his eyes opened.

"You're gonna eat that dude?" Soos asks as Dipper makes a perfectly looking cereal bowl. It might taste even better than it looks like. Soos' mouth is already salivating just by looking at it.

"Nope." the young boy answer pushing the bowl away from him. Oh good, that's what Soos was waiting for! Licking his lips, he leaned in to take the bowl, but Dipper was faster and simply turned around, giving it to Mabel who just entered the room. _"Perfect timing'_ the boy praised himself

"Thanks Dipper." Mabel said kissing his cheek, going to sit down.

"You're welcome love."

"So... have you decided about... you know what?" she trailed off not sure how much attention Soos was paying right now

"Yeah." Dipper muttered looking down; he closed his eyes and took a breath. "I want to go..." he looked back at her "I want to see for myself. I want to know."

"Yes!" the con man's daughter shouted with her fists in the air.

"Yeah, that what I said when my grandma asked me if I want to work at a place called 'Eating All You Want'" Soos laughed "Turns out it was nothing like the name said, and I couldn't eat all I want. I could only work." and he was going to speak some more about a bunch of stuff that happened to him last week, last day, last hour, but Mabel interrupted him quickly sliding something before him "Here Soos, have 20 bucks I stole from my dad's wallet, tell him I've been with you all the weekend."

"Yeah, sure." Soos paused realizing something "Wait, you're going somewhere and you're not telling me?"

Mabel pushes the cereal bowl in front of him "We won't tell him if you don't, and if you don't then you can have this."

The man with the question mark shirts stares with his jaw dropped at it "It looks tasty. I want to eat that." his mouth started to get wet again.

Mabel smirked "Then we have a deal?"

"Oh boy, it's a deal!" he exclaims happily taking bowl. Mabel praises herself silently for a well done job, and takes Dipper by his arm and drags him upstairs. Stan would be proud of his baby right now. Together they pack what they need most and dress up with hoodies to leave unobserved, though, Mabel's red sweater with a kitten on it that says 'Meow Wow' could be considered a little bit noticeable.

"So. How do we do this?"

"There's a train leaving in two hours...but..."

"But?"

"It takes three days only to get there by train, four hours by plane. And since I have no idea where to get one, and you can't take the train because your dad's gone only for the weekend, it means our travel is doomed. Unless..." Dipper stopped there and broke into a huge grin

"What do you have in your mind you nerd?" Mabel grinned back

"We fly there. But not by plane."

Taking their backpacks, they went deep into the forest. Dipper was guiding them, always consulting the journal's directions. They walked for almost an hour when they stopped before an old and abandoned church.

"You want to pray to the God of the rainbows to send us one and slide all the way there?" Mabel inquired with a raised eye brow, though, the idea didn't not seem unlikeable. Quite the contrary. That would be awesome! "Cause, I'm in!"

He made a face, which meant only one thing, so no rainbows for Mabel. Yet. "What? No!" going inside the church, she had no choice, but to follow him as well. Inside, the building looked even worse than outside and there was also a huge hole in the middle of the floor, and that hole seemed to be their next destination. Taking out a rope and tying it around a pillar, Dipper and Mabel went through the hole and down in the darkness right into some abandoned mines. He lights up a lamp and takes the lead.

"Oh my god!" Mabel exclaims looking around "I'm so taking a selfie with this place!" she grins pulling out her phone, Dipper gets in the picture, and she takes a photo with her smiling widely, and Dipper sticking his tongue out smiling too, and behind them an angry T-Rex in attacking position. Dipper told her he found out about this place because the gang came in the church to get high, him at that time being the newest member and the only one who did not, and after they entered the mine, they discovered various Jurassic plants and found various dinosaurs trapped in melting sap, which they deduce to be the beasts' method of survival. But after the effect worn off, they all dismissed it as a dream. So he wrote about it in the journal.

"Oh, by the way love. We're looking for a pterodactyl and I have no idea how to tame it."

"Wait! What?"

 _ ***Gravity Falls, Town Centre***_

"You did a great show tonight." Tate congratulated Robbie after their dancing show ended. "One question though... I didn't see..." Tate clicked his tongue and shook his head, trying not to refer to Pine Tree by that name. "Dipper!" he exclaimed suddenly remembering his name.

"Yeah, the kid ditched us!" Robbie responded, counting the money they made "He left last night and he didn't come back since then."

"And you're not worried?"

"I'm not his dad. The kid can do anything he wants." he threw his bag into the car's trunk and shut it down

"What if something happened to him?" the young boy kept annoying Robbie

"You ask too many questions!" Robbie tried to ignore him as much as possible "Look, it's his life. If he comes back, fine. If he doesn't, it's still fine."

"But that's not quite fair." Tate said

"Life is not fair kid, stay safe and all." was Robbie's last reply, before he got inside the car, turned it one, and he drove off.

 _'It's weird. If he claims so much he doesn't care, then why did he take another car than the others and drove in the opposite direction?"_ Tate wondered, frowning, watching the car Robbie is in driving away, and turning to see the car where the others are, in the opposite direction, which was the fastest way to the Junkyard.

He sighed and began to walk away. He still has a few hours before he needs to return to the orphanage. Go and visit his father, maybe? That if he bothers to recognize Tate this time.

"Hey you!" a girl younger than him shouts. Since he's the one she's looking at, perhaps he's the one she's looking for? "Yes, you. It's not like you're a ghost and nobody else besides me can see you or something." she says reaching him, and rolling her eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asks her politely

"Yup. Just wanted to know if you saw Mabel today?"

"No." Tate shook his head "I'm sorry, truth to be told, I haven't seen Dipper either." and then his mind makes the connection. If the both of them are nowhere to be seen, then they must be somewhere outside the city, or in the forest, and they are most likely together. "Well, apologies once again. See you around Wendy!"

"Bye Tate!" she waved at him, walking away. He smiled, turned around, and walked off in the other direction with his hands behind his back. He took the road which had him closest to his father's place, but he walked in a slow pace, taking his time to enjoy the sights of the wonderful city he was living in and the nature. He stops suddenly and his eyes widen. He knows that feeling... and it means nothing good.

He runs and hides behind a container. He doesn't want to be seen like this in public, who knows what kind of hospital would he be sent to? At the orphanage, his excuses work and everybody leaves him alone. But outside Gravity Falls, Tate would be dead. He starts to shake badly, and blood starts to fall from his eyes and nose.

"It's so powerful." he hisses and gasps for air. His hands went to his hair and they grip it like Tate's life depends on that. Still shaking, he shuts his eyes close, and he attempts to curl into a ball, before let outs a cry and his eyes open widely and bloody. The vision overcame him.

 _ ***Vision***_

 _Dipper sobs hard and Mabel quickly turns around and takes him in her arms. He cries on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her, as her comforting hand goes gently through his hair. "I'll kill them all. Every one of them."_

 ** _*Scene*_**

 _Mabel screams, but it's already too late "DIPPER! DON'T DO IT!"_

 ** _*Scene*_**

 _Both look through a book, then they stare at each other shocked._

 _ ***Scene***_

 _Dipper stands next to a man and he asks coldly without making any contact "Do you, now?"_

 _The man responds "Yes, I do."_

 _Dipper looks at him with red and lifeless eyes, as he replied "Good."_

 ** _*Scene*_**

 _A house burns down to the ground as a trio walks away._

 _ ***End***_

Coming back to reality, Tate gasps for air. His hand goes to his heart as he takes deep and loud breaths to calm himself. He's no longer planning to visit his father today.


	25. Chapter 25

_**A/N: The ending might be disturbing for some you.**_

 _ ***Fifteen Years Ago***_

"Hello?"

Stanford pushed the door open. The entire building was quiet, and only one woman was there, sitting on a chair piling her nails. He heard only his voice echoing in the room, instead nothing.

"May I help you sir?" the woman asked, finally acknowledging his presence. Her face suddenly changed when she saw the baby in Stanford's arms. "Hello sweetheart." she stood cooed at him "What's your name?"

"He is Dipper." Ford smiled fondly. The woman was in her mid twenties, dark skinned, black eyes, slim, tall, and with afro light brown hair. She was wearing a pink skirt, a white shirt with a crucifix around her neck, and a white lab coat over her outfit. "My name is Stanford Pines, and we came here today to ask for your help."

She sighed and thought for a moment, her eyes locked on the baby. "It's outside our program, but we might find a room for you two. Tell me your story while I fill in some papers."

"It all happened when his mother and I slept together. She got pregnant, but she didn't want him. At first, neither did I, so we agreed to have an abortion, but as time passed I began to grow attached to the baby, and I backed away in the last moment right before the abortion. When she gave birth, I took our son and left, and it was the last time I ever saw her. I knew that's what she wanted and she probably wouldn't have helped us in any way. Then I went to my parents at home to ask for help, but my father kicked me and my son out. I have too little money, and it's not enough to care for him, please if we could just stay at your shelter for a while. I have nowhere else to go."

"Broke, homeless, single father and lonely." she mused out "That should be enough to convince Shandra" Shandra? Who is Shandra? Shandra like the girl who wants to become a reporter? Or another Shandra? Maybe an evil twin...No. Shandra is worse enough for two people, there's no need for an evil twin. "Walk with me."

He followed her into an office, and there was another woman sitting at the desk."What have you brought me today Chanelle?" she asked, her eyes locked on the father and his son.

"He is broke, homeless, and a single father. His parents kicked him out, and his girlfriend left him. Do we have any free room for them?"

She rose from her seat, with her hands behind her back. She examined them for what seemed a very long time, before she gave a verdict. "Well." Ford held his breath and patiently waited for a rejection. "I can't say no to this adorable face." she smiled at Dipper, and Ford's knees almost gave out from the immense relief. "Chanelle, be kind and take him to the basement."

"Come on."

"Could you please hold him for a second?" he spoke over her. A moment of silence.

"Of course." she replied, extending her hands and taking the newborn in her arms. Ford let out a long breath, and he fell in the chair behind him. His legs were shaking, and he ran his hands through his hair, holding his head between his hands.

"Thank you." he spoke in a shaky tone. "Thank you so much. I have no words to share my gratitude. I am at loss." The women smiled at him, whatever it was out of pity, or for saying 'you're welcome', he did not know. And he did not want to know.

When they eventually reached the basement, it was nothing Ford thought it would be. It wasn't full of bugs, smelling horrible, dark, luminated by a broken light or with a dirty bed and arcs springing free from the matters. It was nice looking. It smelled nice, it had a small window at the top of the wall, the bed was on the other side and clean, for as long as his eyes looked he could not find a single bug, it was very well luminated and there was even a table for him to study.

For the moment they were fine and that is all what mattered.

 _ ***A Month Later***_

"I know a special baby boy who turns one month today!" Ford cooed in a sing song tone, tickling Dipper on his stomach. The baby giggled loudly, his laughter and joy filling the room with life. "Yes, Dipper, that baby it's you!" Ford kissed his forehead "And I love you." he kissed his little nose "And I know you love me too." he took that tiny hand in his big one and held it against his cheek, before turning his head to kiss it too. "And I want you to know I will never regret having you."

Life is just so much more precious when you have someone to share it with.

 ** _*Two Months Later*_**

"Look at you!" Chanelle cooed taking the baby in her arms "You're growing bigger and stronger every other day! Just like your dad."

"I think he's going to be a better version of me." Stanford replied while dressing up.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to buy a new pack of diapers, wet wipes, and if I can catch some winter clothes on sale, that would be great." he walked over to her and he put his hand on her shoulder "Thanks again for agreeing to watch over Dipper, I really don't want to take him out in this weather unless I'm 100% sure he won't catch a cold. Oh, and remember to keep the temperature a constant between 16 degrees C and 20 degrees C, with 18 degrees C."

Turning around she asked a question that has been bothering her for a while, while he was walking off. "It's not like I want to put you in trouble or something. But where do you get the money to buy so many things? We don't give you any, and you don't have a job, so..." he froze while climbing the stairs. He refused to turn around and his icy cold tone told her something was up.

"I need to leave before the stores close." his voice was trembling, and there was also a hint of fear in his tone. When he returned, he acted like she didn't even exist. He did not address her a single word, he simply took Dipper from her, saying. "It's time to sleep."

 ** _*Three Months Later*_**

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" in the last month, he pretended she never asked him that question, and she pretended she didn't care.

"Yes, me and Dipper abused enough of your kindness." Ford was packing their things. The shelter is moving to another city, to a more spacious and dotted place. And Ford refused to come with them.

"And where will you go?"

"Last time I counted my money, it was enough to get me a bus ride to Gravity Falls. Amusing how I wanted to get there long before I had Dipper, and now it's the only place I can afford to go, right?"

"Before you go..." Chanelle changed the subject. "There is something I would like to do." taking off the crucifix around her neck, she gave it to Dipper who clutched it in his fist. Then she pulled out another one from her pocket and handed it to him. "May the Lord have you both under his watch. You're a good man...stay like that."

"I will." Ford nodded

"One more thing...will you ever tell me how you got all the money?"

"Goodbye." Ford pushed past her and walked away. He got into a cab before she could catch up with him and left before she reached them.

 ** _*Three Months Earlier*_**

Dipper has been crying for already half an hour and got to stop for five minutes, before he started crying again. Ford ran a hand through his hair, counting all the clean diapers that he had left, and his money. Sneaking in the kitchen in the middle of the night, he looked through the fridge for any bottle of milk. He hated what he was doing, making him feel like Stanley, but he had no other choice.

"Hey, you!" Oh no... "What do you think you're doing?"

Ford turned around to see a tall and big man, dressed in a dark green suit, bald, with mustache, bushy eyebrows, brown eyes, and a cane he uses to walk. Oh good Lord, this man can crush Ford faster than someone saying 'phi'. "I know what it looks like, sir, but I can explain myself-"

"Explain what?" he took a step towards Ford and pointed at him with his can "That after these people helped you, gave you a roof over your head, and food, you're stealing from them? I should strangle you right now boy!"

"It's for my son!" Ford shouts hurriedly "He's a newborn, and I can't predict when he will get hungry. I'll pay for them as soon as I can." Who is he trying to fool? He will not get some money unless a miracle happens to him. No one wants to hire him because of his extra fingers.

The man studied Ford carefully before extending his hand "Then it's alright. I am Mr. Froster, I own the land this building stands on and I usually come to check it up."

"Stanford Pines." Ford took his hand and shook it.

A few days later Mr. Froster came for a check up again, Ford was talking to Chanelle, while helping her wash the dishes, telling her he had no success in finding a job.

"Then I might be of aid." both jump at the sound of his voice and turn to face him.

"Mr. Froster, I didn't know you were coming today."

"It's alright Chanelle, could you please check again the day the food products are coming? I can't remember if it's 12 or 21."

"Of course." she nods with a smile and leaves. After Mr. Froster makes sure she's gone, he approaches Ford.

"Listen... pretty boy... I heard you are looking for a job. And I might have something for you. The payment is great I can assure you, but it's not exactly the prettiest thing. You will be done in a few minutes, and have more money than you ever did since your kid was born."

Ford's breath is shaken, and he gulps feeling very uneasy by this intimidating man. "W-what is it?" Mr. Froster smirks and whispers in Ford's ear. He backs away with a terrified gasp, his face entirely red. "Y-You don't mean it! It must some kind of joke! There's no way I would do that!"

"Even if it means keeping your kid alive and well?" Mr. Froster inquires "Look, you're not the first to do that. And it turns out pretty well for both of us." Ford puts on a look of disgust. "If you change your mind, call me."

Ford doesn't sleep in that night. He tries very hard to forget what Mr. Froster said, but he can't. Plus that Dipper keeps waking every eight hours, crying for two, sleeping for six. Pulling out the money from his pockets, all he has left are 33 cents. And only nine clean diapers left, and Dipper needs new clothes because he keeps growing, and food. The one at the shelter is terrible. Putting his head lightly over his son, he listens to the baby's heart beats. He doesn't sleep that night, instead he watches his son sleep, with a smile on his face.

A week later, he was shaking harder with each step he was taking. He still couldn't believe he was going to do this, but he was very desperate. Dipper shows signs of getting a cold, and he doesn't even have money for bread. Three nights he spend thinking of this, and he got to the conclusion it's the only solution. He takes a deep breath, his heart beating in his ears. He knocks on the door and then he knows there's no way to back out of this.

He enters the office, and Mr. Froster is waiting there with a terrible smirk on his face. "You lasted longer than I thought." he comments as Ford locks the door. "But in the end you gave up. They all do." the young man was visibly shaking, but Mr. Froster took no interest. "The money are on the table. For the beginning, I gave you a little bonus. You can take them when you leave."

Ford nods, feeling like he's going to cry. "S-Shall w-w-we...?" he can't even pronounce the words correctly.

"You can begin pretty boy, and take your time, but make it fast." Mr. Froster says, pushing his chair away from the table, and opens his legs, undoing his pants.

Ford closes his eyes, a tear falls from his eye, and he goes down on his knees, his mind blocked on a single phrase. _You're doing this for your son. You're doing this for your son. You're doing this for your son._

It was the worst night of his life.


	26. Chapter 26

_***In Another Dimension***_

An alien being could barely run anymore. Its head was bleeding badly, having a gash that spilled the red liquid slowly to make it more painful. It wondered what the heck was in its head when the gang messed with the mad scientist. Remembering what happened made the head ache hurt more. The man was sitting at their table in a bar drinking something, while glancing at a piece of paper. Most likely that he was new there, either way he wouldn't have sat at their table.

Their leader charged first on the man, trying to show who's the boss in that dimension. The man did not move or pay any attention to them, sipping from his cup, still glancing at the paper.

It took the leader only one second to anger that man and only one terrible to move to die. The leader took the paper from that man, and the man finally reacted, telling the alien to give it back. The alien laughed, and made move to rip it into pieces. In that moment, the man lost his temper and he tackled their leader on the ground, pulling out of his coat a gun and pointing it at the leader's temple.

He repeated the same words. "Give. It. Back."

Their leader grinned, believing stupidly that the man won't harm him. Still wanting to show who is the boss in that dimension, he threw it to the gang he came with and they all took off running. Including the same alien who was bleeding to death now. During the run, a loud bang was heard, and when they turned around, they saw the leader's brains spilled around and the man running after them now.

All of them took a different direction. Instead of one for all and all for one, everyone was on their own. How that piece of paper ended up in its possession, the alien doesn't know. Possibly the others send it through a small portal and that's how it ended up in its pocket.

The sounds of moving boots echo around the hall, and the alien can only hope for its life now. The sounds stop and they begin again. And suddenly there's a hand on the alien's shoulder. The alien tries to run away, but the man tightens his grasp and throws the body on the metallic wall. The alien almost starts to cry, fearing dearly the thought of death being only seconds away. The man stares at him with the coldest glare and while he keeps a tight grip on the alien's neck with one hand, the other reached out of his pockets.

"You're the last one." The man tells him "I killed the rest. And I'm tired of this stupid game, so you either give it back, or lose your life for a pathetic reason like your friends."

"Here, here man, take it! It's yours!" the alien cries reaching inside the pockets and with a trembling three fingered hand, it gives the man what he wants. "Just please, let me live! I've got a teenager kid. I need to take care of him, man." The ramble is filled with lies, and fake tears, and the man sees through it right away.

"I have a kid as well." He chuckled "If you could've come with a better lie, maybe I would've let you live. Maybe not. Certainly not."

"Why man?!" the alien cries desperate "I didn't stole that stupid paper from you, I don't even know how it got to me!"

"Because I can't let you go to Bill and tell him about my whereabouts. I didn't let the others live, so why should I let you?" taking the gun from his back, he charges it "Any last words?" the alien opens its mouth, but Ford cuts him off "Sorry, don't want you to scream! It will be quick, I promise!" and he blows the thing's brains away.

Ford puts the gun back, and undoes the crumpled paper taking another look at it. He smiles, and takes with the other hand the crucifix from around his neck, and presses a short kiss on it. And then, he pulls on his scarf, goggles and hood, and he walks off to another dimension.

 _ ***Real World***_

"I still have no idea how you did that." Dipper shouted to Mabel. They were very high in the sky, way above the clouds, and flying on a dinosaur...

After a few hours of trying, and Mabel having no other things to throw at him, the pterodactyl caught Dipper in a corner and was ready to eat him up. They already used all the rocks, so Mabel threw at him something from her bag. Whatever it was, the dinosaur caught it in its mouth and ate it. Then, he looked at Dipper, but it walked to Mabel. She began to pet him, gave him a hug and showed him some affection which it was something the boy would've never thought of doing, and five minutes later they were best friends.

"Me neither, but just go with it." Mabel shouts back. Even if they are standing one behind the other, the pressure in the air and their height, makes it impossible to be heard if they don't shout.

"Can you make him land? My GPS says we are close." Dipper shouts checking his phone

Mabel lets out a cowboy's cry and yells at the dinosaur "Take us down, Aoshima! The future is in the past!" The dinosaur lets out a high pitched cry and lands on a hill in the middle of a forest, destroying some trees in the process.

Mabel and Dipper got off the dinosaur, and she quickly scrambled through her bag, searching for something. "Bingo!" she shouted, pulling out a camera from her bag. "I gotta take a picture of Aoshima if I want my summer scrapbook to be awesome."

Dipper rolled his eyes, and pulled out his phone "Then if you want to have a scrapbook, I'll have a video book. There it's on now, say something nice Mabes!"

"Hey Dips, how did you get your phone to work when we were flying with Aoshima? Mine, at its first collide with the floor, is pieces." she says searching more through her bag, throwing down random stuff that weren't what she was looking for.

"Oh, that? I made some modifications myself, now it resists at water, sky, and even in space! All I had to do was to play with some chips inside the phone, change some, and move them in another place, and voila!" he made it sound so easy

"You really did that?" Mabel asked turning her bag upside down, and letting all her things fall on the ground

"Yeah."

"Oh my god." She turns to laugh at the camera "You truly are a nerd."

"Shut up… What the heck are you doing anyway?"

"I can't find the Smile Dip, okay?" she shouts irritated at the camera "I was sure I brought them with me and now they are gone…" her face suddenly is by realization. "Ohhhh. Now I know what I did with them! Remember, when Aoshima caught you in a corner, and almost ate you alive?" she grinned at him

"Yes, Mabel, I do." The roll of his eyes could be heard in his voice

"That's what I threw at Aoshima! My Smile Dips!"

"Forget about it." Dipper tells her "That thing was banned for a reason. When you ate that you were worse than me when I get high."

"I know…it was awesome! Hey, do you think Aoshima will be okay? I mean it's a pterodactyl, does Smile Dip work on pterodactyls as it does on humans?"

"I have no idea."

Another high pitched cry was heard and Mabel and Dipper turn to see Aoshima flying away, the camera catching just in time Aoshima breathing black flames on an eagle, then taking it in his mouth and swallowing it whole! The two teenagers have a moment of awkward silence, turning to each other with shocked faces and dropped jaws.

"Did you just…give a dinosaur the power of a mythological creature? Because as far as I'm concerned, only dragons could breath fire… and normal flames, not black ones… this really weird, and it's kind of freaking me out a little bit." If only Mabel shared his opinion.

Her reaction was like totally opposite from his. "Oh my god!" she squealed with a huge smile plastered on her face from ear to ear. "Did you just see that? My new friend literally burned the life out of an animal!"

"Mabel, I'm not sure that-"

"And the fire part, that was the coolest! Seriously, give Aoshima an award or something. Oh no matter, I'll do it. I even give myself an award for giving awards so…" then something happened to her face, it became more of a Stan smile… "I wonder if Becky Rockwood is still living in the same house… I'd like Aoshima to pay her house a visit, and one to Becky as well…"

"Okay. Let's get to the city, and we'll talk later about that." Dipper laughed nervously and turned off the camera, ending the video. He turned the GPS back on and they followed the shown directions, walking around until they finally reached the street and house imprinted on the funeral invitation.

"Are you ready to do this?" Mabel asks him, when they reach the door.

"What chances do I have to back off right now and run all the way back to Gravity Falls?" he responded her with another question.

"Totally zero." Mabel deadpans him with a sweet smile "We've got so far, we can't just back off now."

"Okay." Dipper sighed "Here we go." He shook his head, and almost fearfully pressed on the door bell. He held his breath as they waited for someone to open the door, and for some strange reason, he found his heart beat increasing with each passing second. "Well, nobody's home, we should-"

Of course the door had to open just when he wanted to get away! "May I help you?" a tall brown haired gentleman dressed in a black suit and white shirt asked them politely.

"Yes, sir, yes you can!" Mabel says cheerfully while elbowing Dipper "Say something!" she mutters through gritted teeth, smile still on her face.

"Uhh. Yes, umm. Well…" what the heck? He never stuttered or hesitated before, what's wrong with him? Clearing his voice, and taking a breath to get some confidence, he found his voice shaking when he asked the question that could change his life maybe forever. "Is this the funeral of…" he pulled the card from his pocket to read the name "Alicia Hale?" he found he didn't really want to know, now more than ever.


	27. Chapter 27

After what seemed a very long time, the man finally answered. "Yes. This is her funeral." His eyes narrowed towards the two children "And what brings you here if I may ask. Did you know my sister?"

"No." Mabel replies, and she points to her male company "But we, well I for one, believe that this guy right here might be her son."

That man lets the shock come over his face. He looks so angry like he's ready to throw them in the streets and beat them up. He looks at the boy, who brings almost no physical resemble to his sister. Only a few details are matching, in rest nothing. Like the way the boy just rolled his eyes. The exact way his sister used to do, but it might be more of a coincidence.

"Bradley, who is at the door?" an old lady's voice calls out. And before he could tell her to stay where she is and send the kids away, she comes to see for herself.

"Hello." She smiles widely at them

"Hello old lady who I already find charming." Mabel waved at her, even though they were standing face to face "I'm Mabel, and he's Dipper. We're here for the funeral of a woman whom we believe to be his long lost mother."

"Out of curiosity." Dipper says turning to Mabel "Do you know how to keep a secret? Did you ever keep one?"

"The answer is no to both of these things!"

"Mother, please go back inside." Brad says to the old woman "This is stupid, these kids want to make fun of us. I know my sister, and I know very well that she never had a child."

"How about we go inside and talk, won't you agree Bradley?" she asks changing the subject "It's rude to leave the children outside our door for so long! I've raised you better than this!" she raised her cane and hit his arm with it.

"Careful with the stairs, mother!"

"Oh bugger off. If I want to I can waltz up on them and still hit you perfectly with my cane!"

"I can see why you like her!" Dipper whispered to Mabel as they followed the old lady upstairs, they entered a nicely decorated room, having the walls painted yellow and various drawings on the walls with black marker. On the door there was a poster with a rock and roll band, and under it there was another poster with a school, and under it was written 'Backupsmore.' The room had only one bed, a big wardrobe, and a desk with a laptop on it. On the floor were lots of magazines, books, notebooks, and lots of balls. A baseball, a tennis ball, a volley ball, and a basketball.

"So, she was the outgoing type." Dipper concluded out loud

"Meah, the room we have in the attic is still better." Mabel replied "But I find this one attractive too."

"Bradley, close the door, I don't want any interrupting or I'll throw the basketball at you." The old lady said entering the room while her son kept the door open for her.

"Yes, yes." Brad rolled his eyes at his mother's behavior. No wonder why his sister was like that too.

"Can you be my grandmother?"

"Mabel!"

"What's up Dip Dock? Jealous I asked first?"

"No!"

"Oh my god, that's such a yes!"

The grown up man coughed to let them know they are not at their house and they can't behave like they are. The two stopped their bickering, and went to sit on the bed, where there was a box which said 'personal stuff'. Brad looked at his mother with accusing eyes.

"Why did you let them in? They'll not be staying for too long."

"Actually." The old lady sighed sitting down at the desk "They are… going to stay here for quite some time." And her attention turned completely to Dipper "How old are you boy?"

"Madame, the thing is… I don't even know." He told her "I know nothing about my family ties, I was adopted three times, and my birth certificate has burned. No one told me anything because no one knew anything. Honestly in all, I have no idea who I am, what's my real name, what's my real age, who my parents are, or where I was even born."

"Then why are you losing our time with this?" Brad cried gesturing with his hands "Look kids, I'm sorry if I am too rude to you, but I've got to burry my sister tomorrow and it's no easy job since she didn't die by a natural cause."

"One more thing!" his mother said "Boy, be kind enough and move away your hair from your forehead." Dipper looked at Mabel uneasily before he did so. He was surprised to see her shock and surprise at his birthmark. "So it's true after all..."

"It's just a birthmark." Bran and Dipper said in one voice

"Not just a birthmark!" the old lady cried, turning to her son "It's your nephew's birthmark! Just like my Ali told me! It's the Big Dipper!"

The two males' faces dropped on spot, while Mabel grinned victoriously. Despite all the drama that is to come, this is a win for her. Imagine how much she could mock him for this. The awesome 'I was right. You were wrong.' thing.

"What are you saying?" Bran asked "Mother! What have you and Alicia been hiding from me?" it's the first time they hear him shouting at her. He stands up and starts pacing around the room.

"You were working abroad, it was better not to tell you!" his mother responds to him. She takes a deep breath and addresses to the three of them. "Sixteen years ago, when you were working in London, Alicia met a man she fell in love with. Love at first sight she said. They were both at the same college and almost same classes. One day she send me a letter, which I burned to make sure no one else finds it. The letter said that she got carried away with that man and she became pregnant. So, while you were still in London, she went through the pregnancy and gave birth to a boy." She turned to look at the teenagers "A boy whose father named him Dipper, because of the birthmark on his forehead just like the Big Dipper constellation."

"How come you never told me about this?!" the man angrily shouted "How _could_ you not tell me about this?!"

"Because she wasn't ready to be a mother. I begged her. 'Alicia, please, for the love of God. Bring the child home, marry that man and live a happy life.' And do you know what she did? She gave the baby to his father, who insisted to raise him on his own. Since then and until her death she hasn't seen that man or her son not even once. She didn't marry, she had no other children. And since you were not home, and you came a few years later, there was no point in telling you something that doesn't involve you."

Her son glared hard at his own mother before he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. But not before giving Dipper and Mabel a look of full hatred.

"I need to speak with him." The old lady said getting up "I have to explain some things to him and I believe as well you need some time to contemplate over what you just heard. So, it's best if I take my leave. That box on the bed contains her personal things. If you want to know more of her, you may look through it." And then she was gone.

For a moment they sat in silence. Completely, utterly, silent.

"How do you feel?" Mabel asks him, concerned well written on her face

"I feel nothing." Dipper said, blank faced, lips pursed into a thin line. "I knew she was dead, and she was never a part of my life. So… I feel nothing."

"Do you want to go through her things?"

"Sure. If it satisfies your con man need to go through other people's things. Hey, if we find money, I get to keep them."

"No way, Jose!"

They searched through the box together. And they found out about her that she was some kind of an artist. She played the piano and violin (also the drawings on the walls were big clues on that thing). They saw pictures of her in her youth. And there was a whole album with her high school mates. They saw letters from friends, or love letters, a notebook full of her drawings and when they reached the bottom of the box, they found a locked journal, and absolutely no key.

"I think I can break it if I twist my crucifix at the right angle." By the time he was telling her that, Mabel managed to break the lock on her own. "How did you do that?"

"Part of being a con man's daughter. Wait to see what I can do with the bigger ones!"

Dipper smiled at her and opened the journal. The pages were a brownish color, and it wasn't dusted, so it has been used recently. He skipped through the pages of her middle school period (she got the journal on Christmas from her favorite uncle), got a quick look through her high school years and stopped at her first day of college at Backupsmore. First she wrote about the room and how they half clean and half filthy and how excited she was for her first year. Turning the page Dipper began to read out loud, with Mabel leaning her head on his shoulder, and her arms wrapped around his right arm.

 _November 23rd, 1999_

 _I just came from my appointment and I'm still crying. I've been crying for six hours nonstop and I don't think I will ever stop crying. The news were too much for me. He said I might have_ _Fibromyalgia. I am shocked. Shocked and scared. I don't know what to do._

"What the heck is that?"

"Fibromyalgia is most common in women, though it can occur in men too. It most often starts in middle adulthood, but can occur in the teen years and in old age. You are at higher risk for fibromyalgia if you have a health problem that affects the joints, muscles and bones. It causes widespread pain and tenderness. The pain and tenderness tend to come and go, and move about the body. And… that means your body is too fragile to reproduce."

"And how do you know all that?"

Dipper grinned at her "I've been a nerd all my life." And he went back reading.

"I knew it!"

 _November 25th, 1999_

 _I just found out I have to do a project with someone from my class. He's a genius and the biggest nerd too. Oh good God, just by the way he dresses I can tell he never had a girl friend in his life before, he's awkward, and if he's not a virgin anymore, then I'll fling myself. My doctor said it's just a probability to have Fibromyalgia. I embarrassingly told him I never had any sexual contact before and he kindly (and quite subtle too) told me I should try to have. We'll make another set of analyzes and we'll know the truth._

 _November 26th, 1999_

 _Oh my God. What was in my head? Why did I do that? Why?_

 _Just as I predicted, the nerd fell in my seducing trap and willingly slept with me. Poor guy thinks I feel something for him. He's a good person, which is why I feel so sorry for using him like that._

 _December 2nd, 1999_

 _If I ever felt sorry for that man, the amount I feel now for myself is twice as big._

 _I am pregnant by a man I don't love, with a child I don't want._


	28. Chapter 28

Oh, Dipper, I'm so sorry."

Mabel said hugging him, feeling bewildered at what they just found out, and worried about her friend and how he will react. She looked at him with concern in her eyes, but his face traded no emotion. "Look, there is more." she pointed out "Maybe she changed her opinion over time..." she finished awkwardly, knowing there was a very little chance for that to happen, but slightly believing in the idea because of her sweet personality and capability to see the full side of the glass.

He gave her a cold stare and said nothing.

Mabel took the journal _,_ turned the page and began to read out loud.

 _December 25th 1999_

 _It's Christmas day and I'm spending it with the father of my child (due reasons of any family member of mine to find this, I will not say his name once. Even though I don't have any romantic feelings towards him, I want to protect him and the baby from my crazy family. Trust me, I know what I am saying.) I didn't tell my parents yet about the baby, and I don't intend to. It's too soon. And his parents... Well they are very strict people, especially his father, I don't think they will be any happy when they find out about this. For the moment only the two of us know about this._

 _We are staying in his dorm. His roommate has left to spend the holidays with his own family, and since neither of us don't want to go home, we came to the conclusion that it's better to stay here for Christmas and New Year... And that we need to speak with the principal._

 _January 5th 2000_

 _After we spoke to him, and told him about our situation, he explained to us that the school's reputation has already gone downhill, and my pregnancy will only make it worse. And that he has to suspend me until the baby is born. We shared an uneasy look and we agreed by our faces that we weren't going to tell him what we planned..._

 _A week after I found out I'm pregnant, I decided I want to do an abortion._

"I'm sure it gets better. People tend to be very mean when bad things unexpectedly happen, but in the end they regret it. Maybe she was just very scared, yeah, that's the reason." Mabel babbled turning the page quickly after she read the last sentence. "Ah, this sounds better!"

 _February 18th 2000_

 _I don't know how he did it, but he managed to make me fall in love with him, truly this time. One time we were alone in his room, and he was giving me a hot chocolate. I was sitting on the edge of his bed in some tight pajamas which made a small bump to be distinguished. Even he didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he knelt down between my legs, and his hands pressed slightly against my bump._

 _"Our child is growing in there." he said. I told him I can't wait to get rid of it, and I saw for a single moment the hurt on his face before it was covered by a mask of indifference._

 _Since then I began to notice him, those tiny gestures he did towards me that no boyfriend of my girl friends I've seen to do. The way he held me at night, the way he was always there to wish me 'good morning' or 'good night', the way he worried if I ate enough, or if I'm doing well in my classes. It weren't the same things a parent does to its child. Those things transmitted to me his love, and when I finally got that, I began to fall in love with him as well..._

"I knew it was going to get better, because no one can resist the power of... Mabel's positivity! It's like a thing that when you catch it, you can't get rid of it no matter what." pause "Okay Dips, you haven't said anything yet, which gives me a weird sensation, so I'm just going to get back to reading... if you don't mind."

 _February 21st 2000_

 _We went to the doctor today to have the abortion done. I could tell he was very nervous, but I know it's hard. And I know it has to be done. He let me stay in his dorm, since I don't want to go home and tell my parents, but when his roommate comes back, what will happen to me? And if I tell you right now what happened you won't believe it..._

 _He backed away in the last moment!_

 _We first did a check up to see how the baby is developing, turns out he's healthy. Yes, he. My boyfriend, technically we're still dating, wanted to know the gender and we found out we're having a boy. When the doctor left the room to bring the necessary papers for the abortion, he said he couldn't do this! He said he can't kill a person! I tried to make him see that this baby will only cause us more problems if we keep it and he said he wants to hear nothing of it!_

 _I've never seen him like that before. He told me that he wants to keep the baby. And when I countered him about his parents, he said, and I quote 'I honestly could care less about what they think. It's my life, I can do whatever I want with it. And today I realized something, I want to be a father to that child, I want to raise him, and if I have to do it on my own then so be it! I will raise him the best I can. And something else? You are going to have that baby! Because I am NOT signing that paper for abortion! And you can't have it without my signature. So, AFTER, my son is born, you will either give him to me, or we will continue this fight in the Court. You need to make a choice Alicia. I have already made mine!'_

 _He left me speechless. And I hated him again._

"Wow..." Mabel said, and when she looked at Dipper, he was with his jaw dropped and also speechless. "How cool is your dad for this?" she beamed and read more. This was honestly getting very interesting and the end must be a tragic, but happy one.

 _August 30th 2000_

 _Today is the day I went into labor, only a few hours and my son will meet the world._

 _September 1st 2000_

 _I never thought I will be one of the girls who get pregnant during their teenager years, but I was. I was pregnant at nineteen and yesterday I became a teen mom... but not for long..._

 _He came as fast as he could, and he was overly excited to meet his son. He was with me during the birth and everything, and whispered only sweet things to me, encouraging me to go through it. But when the baby was brought in the room, it's like he forgot about my very existence. I watched how fascinated with the newborn he was, and how his entire being was already adoring everything of the infant. During the last months of the pregnancy, the baby seemed the only way to have him talk to me. Ironically, the man I didn't love at the beginning, but loved him with all my heart in the end, loved me at the beginning, but at the end, his heart belonged only to our son._

 _I wanted to cry when he began to dress up because it meant that he was leaving me forever. He took our son and when he reached the door he said 'Dipper. Our son's name it's Dipper. Goodbye Alicia, me and Dipper will forever be grateful.' and he walked out of my life._

 _I hated myself, because I hated a newborn baby for taking away the man I loved with all my heart._

 _October 15th 2000_

 _I hate myself for never telling him how much I love him. But I wasn't ready for that life. I wasn't ready to be a mother, but he was clearly ready to be a father. I haven't heard anything from them. Something tells me I will never hear from them again..._

 _But one thing I don't hate anymore, is hating myself for hating the baby. I have full hate on that baby and I regret giving birth to him. I shouldn't have, I should've aborted him when I had the chance. I should've never taken my love's money and move far away from my mom to live a life I didn't want._

 _Today my doctor told me I have postpartum preeclampsia. And worse, my mother found out about everything._

"Look, there's even a page that explains what that thing is..." Mabel picked it from the journal, but her chest was heavy enough and she felt that she was only adding salt to the wound. "Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare condition that occurs when a woman has high blood pressure and excess protein in her urine soon after childbirth. Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth. However, postpartum preeclampsia sometimes develops up to six weeks after childbirth. This is known as late postpartum preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia requires prompt treatment. Left untreated, postpartum preeclampsia can result in seizures and other serious complications, which will ultimately cause death. It's just a matter of years."

Her hand went to her eyes, unable to hold back her tears. His mother is blaming him for killing her. She's blaming him for taking her man and she regrets having him born. This... this way too much... and Mabel can't help herself, but cry. Because it's painful enough for him. He doesn't have to be alone in this.

She turned to look at him, but his face remained impassive and unreadable.

And he suddenly stood up.

She followed him downstairs wondering what he was going to do. And they found that everyone has left the house to go to the church. They were alone, and that scared Mabel. He walked in the living room, and looked at a picture of his mother in her younger years. He took it in his hands and he threw it only on the floor, breaking it pieces. He turned to the painting on the wall and punched it, his nails scratching the paper before pulling it out of the frame and ripping it in pieces. He broke the two vases in the room by throwing them on the floor, he punched the wall and left a hole in there, he ripped the papers on the table before turning it over, all while letting out cries of anger. Finally he went to the bookcase, grabbed it with his hands from lateral side and made it fall on the floor.

After he was done, the living room was a total disaster. Dipper was panting hard, and he fell with his back on the wall. He slid down on the floor too, and his pants turned to sobs... Tears began to fall on his cheeks like waterfalls and he sobbed loudly like a broken man, burring his face in his hands.

Mabel carefully walked to him, avoiding any glass pieces that could cut her shoes, and she sat next to Dipper. She takes his hands away and she wraps him in her arms. He cries on her shoulder, as her comforting hand goes gently through his hair.

"I'll kill them all." he sobbed "Every one of them."


	29. Chapter 29

**_A/N: Song→ The wailin' jennys - Long time traveller_**

 ** _Link → '/watch?v=-UNT3poCd6U'_**

 ** _The spell is made up by me._**

* * *

 ** _These fleeting charms of earth_**

 ** _Farewell, your springs of joy are dry_**

 ** _My soul now seeks another home_**

 ** _A brighter world on high_**

Many people had gathered in a church on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Every man, woman, and child were dressed in black suits or black dresses to display their feelings on the day. For many people this day was a dreadful one, extremelly sad for the family, and for one young teenage boy it was the day he hated the most. People were seated in the church from the friends at work, to distant friends, distant relatives, friends and family. Right on the front road, on one side was sitting the dead woman's mother, father and brother and probably the brother's wife or girlfriend. And on the other side there was a couple, the woman's uncle and aunt. And the woman's only child, a son, and his female companion.

The son she didn't want with a man she didn't love. The man she learned to love and got to love him with all her heart. The man who left her because she didn't want to take care of their son, or even have him. The man who loved their son more than he could ever love her, or anyone else, and even more than his own life.

 ** _I'm a long time travelling here below_**

 ** _I'm a long time travelling away from home_**

 ** _I'm a long time travelling here below_**

 ** _To lay this body down_**

The priest already began the service. Mabel Pines, who wore a black ribbon in her hair, which she chose to let down, was dressed in a black dress that ended a few inches above her knees, and tied a black ribbon around her middle her on her backside, a dress with sleeves that ended at her elbows, did not listen to the service at all. Her eyes turned to look at the woman's mother and brother, who were crying their eyes out, and the father who tried his best to sooth their pain away. Looking more around the church, she saw other family members crying truly, but trying to hide it, and some people crying only to make a show out of themselves and be noticed. And then Mabel turned to look at the coffin, which due the family's decision, the funeral wasn't with the casket open, and wondered if this woman ever knew what she left behind.

 ** _Farewell kind friends whose tender care_**

 ** _Has long engaged my love_**

 ** _Your fond embrace I now exchange_**

 ** _For better friends above_**

Then her eyes turned to the one person she cared about most in this place. Her concern of him was far greater than anyone else believed. Indeed, like any other family member, his eyes were red from crying, so red you couldn't tell which was his actual eye color, red or brown. But his eyes were red from an entire different reason... Her hand touched his shoulder, but he did not flinch or move. He was burning the coffin with his eyes.

"Dipper." she leaned in to whisper in his ear "Please don't do anything stupid. Revenge is not the solution." he turned to look at her "She hurt you. True. But look at the facts, your father loved you so much he didn't want to let you die. It's no easy task to take care of a baby when you're so young, but your father did this, you wouldn't be here now if he didn't back away in the last moment."

A sad smile covered his face matching the red eyes. "And where is he now?" fresh tears welled up in his eyes "He found out he couldn't take care of me and he dropped me off at the first adoption center."

"You don't know that." Mabel said softly, her palm went to cup his cheek, and wiped a tear in the process.

His palm touched hers and he gave it a squeeze. "Yes, I do." he muttered, closing his eyes, letting the new tears fall. Mabel pulled him into a hug, and only for one second she wondered if her parents ever regretted having her.

 ** _I'm a long time travelling here below_**

 ** _I'm a long time travelling away from home_**

 ** _I'm a long time travelling here below_**

 ** _To lay this body down..._**

The service ended a few minutes ago and Mabel went outside because Stan was calling to check on her. Now, the people inside were getting ready to go to the cemetery with Alicia Hale on her last road and bury her rooting body for ever. Dipper saw his uncle alone, his grandmother and grandfather were speaking with the priest, and found the opportunity ask him something.

"When I found out I am your nephew, I asked you a couple of days ago if you regretted that your sister gave birth to me. And you said no."

He turned to his nephew with a cold look "And?"

"Do you, now?"

"I do."

Dipper looked at him with red lifeless eyes and held his gaze for a moment "Good." he turned around and walked away. Outside, he looked for Mabel, and saw her with a very unexpected person. "Robbie?" he approached them slowly and took a better look at his best friend "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you said you didn't want to come to the funeral because you didn't want to know if she was your mother or not. So, I did..."

Dipper was shocked and touched. "You came all this way from Gravity Falls to research on my family ties?"

"Kind of... Kid, Mabel told me about what happened in these last days and what you found out... How are you handling it?" Instead of answering, Dipper fell forward and Robbie caught him in a hug, their first shared hug in years. "Listen to me kid." he told Dipper, while the boy sobbed on his shoulder "You're at your hardest task right now. Finding out who you really are and where do you come from. Those past days may have been horrible to you, but don't forget that there are better days to come. And even if you don't have your true family by your side, remember that me, the gang, and now Mabel, will always be there for you..."

 ** _I'm a long time traveling here below,_**

 ** _I'm a long time traveling away from home._**

 ** _I'm a long time traveling here below_**

 ** _To lay this body down,_**

 ** _To lay this body down,_**

The burial has ended. With tears, cries, and Alicia's mother who fainted when the coffin was dropped into the ground. And one by one, everyone left the cemetery... everyone except Dipper, Mabel and Robbie. Dipper sat before the grave, while Mabel and Robbie were in the background glancing worriedly at him.

"I'm scared." Mabel told him "Of what he will do."

"I don't blame you." Robbie replied. "So am I."

Dipper carefully laid ten candles around the grave, creating there a perfect rounded circle. He turned to Mabel and Robbie and nodded towards them "Let's go home." the two turned around and began to walk away. But Dipper didn't. He turned back to the grave as a cunning smile made its way on his face. He opened the journal, entering the circle formed by the candles and walked on the grave. His eyes turned wild and his body was shuddering from the excitement that he was finally going to get his revenge. He knew it was the wrong way, but it never felt so right.

I̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶r̶e̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶m̶p̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶

̶A̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶p̶i̶r̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶.̶

The wind began to blow a little bit harder and the fire in the candles turned black as a purple line closed him in the circle. The chant was dark and the words gave Dipper a cold shiver.

G̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶a̶n̶d̶.̶

̶G̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶.̶

̶H̶e̶l̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶pi̶r̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶

̶I̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶.̶

The dark flames began to rise as Dipper walked away and stopped right outside the circle as the grave was covered entirely in the black flames. Robbie turned around and almost gasped when he saw what was happening. Mabel sees his horrified expression.

S̶p̶i̶r̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶

̶A̶r̶i̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶u̶n̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶

̶H̶A̶V̶E̶ ̶N̶O̶ ̶C̶U̶R̶E̶ ̶T̶O̶ ̶T̶H̶I̶S̶ ̶S̶P̶E̶L̶L̶

̶A̶N̶D̶ ̶S̶E̶N̶D̶ ̶H̶E̶R̶ ̶T̶O̶ ̶T̶H̶E̶ ̶D̶E̶E̶P̶E̶S̶T̶ ̶H̶E̶L̶L̶!̶

̶P̶U̶N̶I̶S̶H̶ ̶T̶H̶I̶S̶ ̶B̶O̶D̶Y̶ ̶W̶H̶O̶L̶E̶

 **̶A̶N̶D̶ ̶H̶E̶L̶P̶ ̶M̶E̶ ̶T̶O̶ ̶F̶O̶R̶E̶V̶E̶R̶ ̶B̶A̶N̶I̶S̶H̶ ̶H̶E̶R̶ ̶S̶O̶U̶L̶!̶**

She turns around and screams, but it was already too late "DIPPER! DON'T DO IT!" There was a big explosion around the grave as an image of Dipper's mother appeared, Dipper hesitated for a moment and took a step backwards, but then a chain with a closed locket circled her body and forcefully pulled her into the ground. She put up a fight, but the chains were stronger, she took one last look at her son before she disappeared into the ground forever. Her own child cursed her to never leave the other side and had her thrown into the deepest part of hell. He cursed her body to never leave her grave.

After burying his sister today, Bradley only wanted some peace and a good cup of tea. It seems like he will not have that. When he reached his home, he dropped to his knees, as he saw the house was on fire. And strangely, all of their things were standing outside, on the other side of the street, completely unharmed. Even more so, no one saw or heard, anything that might lead to the one who did that. But to Brad it was no strange thing to happen. He knew very well who did that and why. And his only wish at that specific moment, was to travel back in time and prevent that boy from ever being brought into the world.

The house burned to the ground as the trio formed of Robbie, Dipper, and Mabel, walked away.

And somewhere else, in Gravity Falls, Oregon, Tate McGucket knew that one way or another his vision had come true.


	30. Chapter 30

After the funeral, Mabel returned home with Aoshima's help while Robbie drove home with Dipper. He told her it's better this way, because she will return in time, and he will have the necessary time to discuss with Dipper about what happened and what he did. Biting the inside of her cheek, she accepted. Due Stan coming back in a few hours, there was no way that she could deny anyway.

And the morning after she got home, she received a text from Robbie. _'He broke down.'_ what exactly did that mean?

"Hey honey." Stan greeted her when she entered the kitchen. As always, he was reading the news paper and sipping from his coffee. "How was your weekend with Soos?" it's normal for him to ask that, but she holds back from telling him everything from the beginning to the end.

"It was... okay. Though, I didn't stay much with Soos, I was mostly with Dipper."

Stan gave her a dark look "Is it something going on between the two of you that I should be aware about?"

Mabel freezes when he asks her that, mostly because she thinks he asks as if he knows where they were. But when it hits her that he asks because of his overprotective parental instinct kicking in, she starts to tease him to loosen up. "Yes, but I didn't know how to tell you this without you freaking out because I know in some sort of weird way, he's the first boy you see around me, and you didn't threaten his life already or something close to that." The look on Stan's face is priceless. No words can describe it and Mabel uses her entire powers to not burst out laughing. He's so going to freak out about this!

"How long has it been going on?"

"The day we meet actually."

The color drowns from his face and he feels like he aged ten years in ten seconds when he heard her. "And how far did you guys take it?"

"Oh, don't worry daddy." Mabel plays the fool with an innocent, but devilish smirk "We used protection."

He spits out his coffee on her face, and he coughs so hard he starts to punch his chest to keep himself from fainting. Hot Belgian Waffles! Stanford is going to kill him if the kids don't do it first when they find out the truth. He's horrified and only the thought of his baby girl having sexual intercourse with her... cousin... makes him want to puke his stomach out. Which happens anyway because it's so sick even Stan can't hold back and he darts to the sink and starts to vomit.

"Oh gee, and I thought you will not be so overdramatic."

 _Overdramatic?_

He turns to her green faced and only one look at her makes him turn around and start puking again.

"And you know what? I think I'm pregnant!" Jesus fucking Christ! Carla is going to kill him! "Which is great, because the day I met him, I decided that I want to get married to him and have his kids. You're probably going to be a grandpa! Isn't that awesome?

His heart beats to break his chest and he knows he's going to the deepest and darkest pits of hell for that. "Mabel." he mutters out gritting his teeth. "I want you to listen to me very carefully." he grips the sink so hard his knuckles turn white and a voice inside his mind sings ' _you knew from the beginning what you got yourself into.'_

But when he turns around, tears stream down his daughter's face, or it might be his coffee. Who knows? Her hand covers her mouth and when he sees her she bursts out in the sweetest and most joyful laugh.

He almost has a heart failure realizing she was only joking with him, and he wipes off the sweat on his forehead, feeling so relieved that his knees almost give out. Mabel laughs like she's going to die and Stan listens to her with a fond smile. It remembers him of the time she was just a baby.

"You should've seen your face." she says in high pitched tone between the laughs "Oh, I should've recorded it!"

"You got me." Stan chuckles "Yeah, you got your old man. That's my girl."

Mabel gives a full teethed smile and she gets up from table and runs towards the sink giving him a hug. "Just so you know, there's nothing going on between me and Dipper. Absolutely nothing."

Stan laughs nervously "That's a relief." and a big one!

"I mean, he's a really cool guy. But I can't see him as anything more than a friend. It just... doesn't feel right. It's kind of weird if you start to think on it. Plus, he's got the hots for a blonde girl he saw a few days ago at the mall."

"I'm glad for this. I don't want you to run away with any boy while I'm still alive."

"Awww.' Mabel coos "Then I'll do it after your death."

"Good. Because I plan to live a long and boring life just to thick you off."

She pushes away from him and gives him a 'you-can't-fool-me' look, before she turns to make her way out of the kitchen. "You remind me a lot of your mother. Sure, you have some of my traits too, but you're mostly like Carla." she bits down on her lower lip and she stops right in the door way. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Mabel turns around and goes to sit back at the kitchen table. "Actually there's some, kind of stupid actually, question and..." she scratches her head thinking of how to put this up "In my heart I already know the answer, God, I never doubted that... but it's my head that likes to mess around me."

Stan blinks before he takes a seat as well, right in front of her. "What is it? You know you can tell me anything right? You look like you killed a puppy. Don't worry honey, I still love you the same. I can help you burry it if you want, I know a good spot outside the city."

"What? No! It's not that!"

"Then?"

"I know that you and mom had me when you were like super really young... and..."

"And?"

"I just wondered if..."

"If?" He was starting to lose his patience. "Come on honey, I've got some tourists coming over soon and I plan to show Soos in a diaper and lock the door so I can put taxes on getting out." Stan urged her looking at the watch on his wrist

"Did you and mom ever regret having me?"

Stan is totally taken back by the question itself, and suddenly the tourists coming over don't matter anymore. He studies her expression and waits for her to crack once again and start laughing, though he sees nothing funny in that question, and when she doesn't, he realizes she means it.

"What brought that up?" he asks in a mix of confusion and concern. "Did some rude kids tell you something or that?" actually the thought of that turns off the two and rises his anger.

"No, but... You know what? Forget I asked that. Just, forget it." she makes move to leave, but Stan grabs firmly her wrist.

"Tell me what this is all about." his tone doesn't leave room to argue so...

Mabel took a breath and she took his hands into her, without looking at him "Dipper found out his mother died a few days ago. And when he went to the funeral, he found an old journal of hers where she explained that... She never loved him. She hated Dipper the moment she got pregnant, called him a mistake and everything. She was rumored to not be able to have children so she took the first guy she saw and she slept with him."

 _That wrench did WHAT to my brother!?_

"At first the two agreed to have Dipper aborted, but his father backed away in the last moment. And he insisted to take care of him on his own if he has to... She didn't love him at the beginning, but slowly she began to, until she loved him from the bottom of her heart. After Dipper was born, she said he took the baby and left. And that she hates herself for giving birth to Dipper because that man just loved Dipper more..."

 _Oh Sixer..._

"And how does the kid feel?" Stan asks scratching the back of his head.

"He took it hard...and to me, it raised that question. Because she said that they were both young when they had Dipper..."

"Mabel...Just because your mom and I don't get along well, that doesn't mean it's your fault. It didn't work out for us, but what we had was special because we had you. Sure, we struggled a little bit because we weren't doing well with money, and we weren't exactly on 'good' terms, but in the end it was worth it. And I'd do it a hundred times over, without changing my mind, if I have to."

She gave him a grateful smile, and with those big brown shiny eyes and long curly brown hair, for a moment he thought he was staring at a younger version of his ex love. "Thanks..."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

"For being my dad." his heart softens when he hears her saying that "I wouldn't want anyone else besides you to be my dad. And I wish that we could spend more time together than just this summer." she leans in and kisses his cheek before she goes upstairs.

He went to his room and he locked the door. He sat on his bed, in the darkness, with his head between his hands. "Of all the things... the only thing I want to tell her is the only thing I can't..." just then his phone started to ring. Picking it up, he heard the voice of his lawyer, and he hoped for good news "So... after this weekend where are we standing with the custody process?"

"Not too good I'm afraid."

"Why? Come on, I already gave you more money than I had. What more do you want from me?"

"Mr. Pines, can I speak to you very frankly?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have little chances of winning the custody process for your daughter due your past crime records. If I were you I'd just call my ex girlfriend and decide together when she will stay with her mother and when she will stay with you."

"You don't understand!" Stan cried angrily "Carla never lets me see her for more than a few weeks! And she will cut even those weeks if she wins Mabel's custody! She thinks I am too much of a bad influence to Mabel!"

"Maybe she's right Mr. Pines..."

And in that night, he dreamt something he never thought to live to dream.

 _*Mindscape*_

 _'Hello there, name's Bill. I'm busy so I'll get to business. I am the most powerful being in the Mindscape, and I will help you win the process with your wife, but you're going to have to give me something in return as well.'_

 _'What?' Stanley scoffs crossing his arms to his chest 'Money? Dream on.'_

 _'No, not that. You just have to shake my hand and agree that for as long as you're alive, you will never tell your daughter or nephew about his true parentage.'_

 _'Wait... you know my brother?'_

 _'As a matter of fact I do. But back to our business, agree to never tell the children about Six Fingers and pretend like he doesn't exist just as you did so far, and in return I will help you win your daughter. So, what do you say? Do we have a_ ** _deal_** _?_


	31. Chapter 31

The road was long and mostly silent. Dipper was grateful when he saw the welcome sign of Gravity Falls and couldn't wait to get some sleep in his old bed. Robbie drove all the way, and at the beginning of the road, they talked heavily about what happened, only to leave the rest buried in silence. Dipper was beyond tired, and only wanted to rest. Leaning his head on the window, he had a glance at his poor image of once a confident strong boy, now, sad, broken and truly an orphan. His hair was a mess, his face all cried up, and his eyes were surrounded by a big redness, sniffing occasionally. Getting out of the car, he wasn't surprised to see the gang gathered up in camp fire, as much as he was surprised they were still up at this late hour. They all turned to look at him, and Dipper only guessed that somewhere on the road Robbie texted them about what happened.

"You hungry guys?" Nate asked "You've been driving for a really long time."

"I think I'll pass." Robbie said, stretching his body. "Boy, I'm tired."

Lee handed him a beer can as Robbie took a seat next to him.

"What about you Dipper?" Thompson asked with a nervous smile "I made your favorite." he showed off a plate, which looked so good and appealing, that in any other occasion the young boy would've killed to have it. But Dipper shook his head. He felt so much like a harmless zombie between humans.

"Okay, that's it!" Tambry snapped the awkward silence that settled between them, and made Dipper turn around when he made his way to leave. "You! Come back here!" he knew it was better to listen to her than to defy her. An angry Tambry is not something you want to deal with. When he reached her, he realized two things. One, they were almost the same height. Two, Tambry is really short, or he is too tall for his age. He couldn't process anything else as the girl grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her. For a moment he thought she was going to punch him or something. Not in a million years would've he thought that he's going to live the day when Tambry hugged him.

But she did... and it left him speechless.

Everything was coming back. The pain, the betrayal, the hurt, the tears. Everything. His body began to shake and his eyes were refilled with salty tears, which he thought he had cried them all. Closing his eyes, and letting them fall freely instead of fighting them, he hugged Tambry back as his body shook with every sob.

The boys were ever more shocked than Dipper was. All except Robbie, who smirked and took a sip from his beer can. No matter how much she would claim she hated them, deep down inside her, Robbie knew Tambry loved them just the way they are. And Dipper was her weak spot. Actually, to be honest, he was everyone's weak spot. That kid managed to warm his way up in everyone's hearts, and Robbie couldn't be more proud. A bunch of homeless people, who never met each other before, who were coming from different families and had different reasons to leave their home, people who were so different and apart from the others...became a sort of a family. A powerful bond had tied them forever, and made them all better people, that in case of crisis, they are there for each other.

Putting the beer can away, Robbie was next to walk up to them and wrapped his arms around the two. Soon followed by Nate, Lee, and Thompson, and they all made a group hug. No words were said, but there were said enough.

"I freaking love you guys." Tambry said "All of you. Idiots as you are, you're my idiots."

"Despite our conflicts and differences, we made it through this life together." Robbie muttered "And I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Before I met you, I swear I was going to kill myself." Nate confessed "But now I don't want to do it anymore. I feel like I belong here with you, and to not commit suicide, was the best choice of my life."

"We are the Rebels of Falls. We stay together, through the best and worst." Lee added "And any time any of you need me, I promise I will always be there."

Thompson was crying too now. "You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me. I am so lucky I got to meet you. You are my real family, and that's all the truth I know."

When they broke apart, they smiled at each other, convincing one the other that there is hope for a better day.

"Guys..." Dipper spoke up for the first time, his voice hoarse. "I think we should tell each other our life stories." everyone looked at him as if he said he's gay. "Look, we have that rule about not speaking of our past. But let's be honest, which one of us actually told the truth? Come on, we all mustered up a story and used it as ours when it's clearly it's not true, but nobody said anything so far. And now that... you guys know a part of my real story... how about you tell me yours?"

Everyone remained silent and looked at each other awkwardly, all thinking the same. Were they ready to do this? "You know what? The kid is right." Robbie stepped up for him "If we want our bond to remain like this, we have to know who we are really spending our time with. But no fucking judgment, okay?" they all took a seat around the camp fire and Dipper couldn't be any happier. He looked at Robbie gratefully, and the other nodded his head."If it helps you out, I'll go first. I was lonely and tired and my parents didn't try too hard to be parents. They send me to my aunt for one summer who was extremely abusive. Anything that could hurt me, she throwing it at me. It was easy to pass it off at school because I was known as the problem child who took nothing and fought everyone. Outside the house, across the street, was always sitting a homeless man. When I had money, I gave it to him, but most time he wasn't sober. One day, my aunt got so angry and said I will become like my father and then told me that my dad wasn't actually my dad. In that house my mom and aunt used to live together when they were young, when my mom started dating my dad, soon she began to cheat on him. A man who loved her truly, but had nothing to give her. My dad was a man, who had something to give her. She became pregnant with that man, and lied to my dad that it's his child. Turns out the homeless man across the street was my real dad, and waited there for years, hoping that my mom will return to him someday. And that's when I ran away. I ran to get away, I ran to find a better life. When I lived with my aunt I would get so stressed out I'd have full blown migraines. The whole point in running was so all that would just dissolve. But it didn't. It got worse. I lived on the streets and got into drugs. I slept on the streets, I am three years behind my school studies, and when winter came, if my uncle, who is a cop, wouldn't have found me, I would've died frozen."

"I'll go next." Nate said "My mom died when I was young and my dad was an alcoholic man, who before he had children was charged for murder while being drunk. It's scary when living on the streets is better and feels safer than being home. All I ever wanted was to be with my brother and my 2 sisters away from him, so to stay in good touch, I always did right by them. Washed their clothes, cooking for them, playing with them, things like that. One day, my dad came home drunk as hell, and exactly in that day my siblings happened to break a framed picture of him and mom. When he asked who did that, they all blamed me, even though they knew I wasn't home that day. I've never seen him so angry in my entire life, he put a knife at my throat and told me if I ever showed up my face he won't hold back to kill me. I've befriended a bad group and I got in lots of trouble, I was stealing from people when the police caught me, they took me to the station. They asked me if I want to return home, or to go to JUVI. I immediately chose JUVI, but man. I swear I don't wish even for my dad to ever get there... that place had marked me for life. Because I had nowhere else to go, after I was out of prison, I committed more crimes, only to get back there. Two years later I met Robbie's uncle who saved me from myself."

As he finished his story, he turned to Lee. "I was 15 when I left home. There were many reasons that I am sure most kids go through, but when I had an experience with date rape and told my mother who said it was my fault, I decided to bolt. I figured I could take care of myself better than anyone so I left. The problem is once you get out on the street you realize that it isn't that easy. You can't get a job because you can't give your name, you can't eat without stealing or hooking. You become a shell of a human, you go from worrying about the guy in 5th period thinking you're a dork to worrying if you are going to get raped or worse. I slept where ever I could find a place to flop. I spent many a night behind a local grocery store and would get up really early in the morning before the delivery trucks would come. I would raid the dumpster to get the day old bread or the bruised fruit to eat. I would use local fast food places to wash up in. I hooked up with a small time drug dealer and began to work for her delivering drugs. I became addicted soon. I broke into people's houses and stole money for drugs and I almost killed somebody because they didn't want to give me the drugs. I came to Gravity Falls to hide from the police, and my guess, is that now they don't even know who I am."

"I guess I am next..." Thompson muttered poking his fingers "My mother was a very lovely woman. She was polite with everyone, she went to church on Sunday, and she was very communicative. We lived in a bad neighborhood, because we couldn't afford more. I was 8 years old, and even though they were separated, my dad would come to visit often. One time, I listened at their conversation and realized that he wasn't coming to see me, he was coming to ask my mother for money. The kindness in her never let her say 'no.' I saw in the shadows when he hit her, he came back after a few weeks swearing he will not do it again. When I turned 11, he asked me if I wanted to do something nice for her. And I said yes. He said that my mother is very poor because all her money are spend on me, and that he wanted to help her. So, he took me to a ride in his car, and promised me that this will help my mother dearly, that's why I agreed. At some point I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was on a street in a different city and realized that he left me in the middle of nowhere with no money to handle myself. M-my own father had abandoned me..."

"I'll take it from here since I'm the last one." Tambry sighed "My mom was a too religious bitch. She respected the bible more than she loved my dad. She never loved me. I've always been a rocker and that had her go nuts. My dad is a very inoffensive man, so he never said anything. I dyed my hair, and got this hair cut, and when mom found out she screamed that Satan has taken me over. A Sister from the church told her something that she should've never found out. I mean, my dad knew he was totally okay with it. I'm bisexual. And in that night, she tried to strangle me while I was asleep. I began to cut, each cut, marking every time I wanted a girl instead of a boy. To please her, I began to date only boys, but one of them had raped me... and I got pregnant with his child. Frankly, I wanted to keep the baby, but my mom was against teenage pregnancy and pushed me down the stairs which made me lose the child. She forced my dad to throw me out after embarrassing me to the whole neighborhood, and I came here because it was all I could afford."


	32. Chapter 32

"It was so weird... For the first time since we got together, we've actually been honest with each other." Dipper said to Mabel. First morning after he returned to Gravity Falls, he promised to come and see her. So, he asked her to meet him inside the abandoned church in the forest. When she got there, he was sitting on the small stage, in front of what remained of the stained glass, with a deep and thoughtful look on his face. "Man, some of them have stories which are worse than I thought."

"And what did you do?" she asked him, drawing something silly on the floor with colored pencils. After all no one is there to see or accuse her. And she's bored. "Did you sing a song about the power of friendship?"

Dipper rolled his eyes, and gestured with his hands using an ironical tone, mixed with a hint of amusement. "Yes, we sang a very long song about friendship and love and then we all flew in the sky on rainbow and turned into stars, while holding hands and smiling brighter than the sun."

Mabel laughed. "And I thought _I_ had too much sugar last night."

"Actually, no, we didn't do that." Dipper said "What I did, though, was to tell them my life story just as they told me theirs."

"Oh..." Mabel replied pretending for a moment to be more interested in her drawing than in what he's got to say "Hey!" she added on a much happier tone, even if her face remained stoically "My dad's throwing a party at the Shack tonight, do you wanna come? We have lots of snacks and juice, and a shiny dance floor, and taxes, and Soos is the Dj. It's gonna be awesome!"

"How? Not that what you said doesn't seem awesome."

"Because I'm going to be there." she said on a tone that on her language sounded more like 'Duuh, you dum-dum.' "Oh and by the way, don't eat any of the snacks and don't drink any juice. They are already expired and that's my dad's way to get rid of them. He changed the expiring date with small sticky notes, but I don't it's gonna work for too long. Oh, and don't stay too much on the dance floor, some termites have been roaming around the Shack for a while. So... if you don't want to meet the basement, don't do it."

"So..." Dipper trailed off, processing the new information and coming to a conclusion "You're inviting me to a party where I can basically do nothing?" Mabel nodded enthusiaslly "Sounds fun. I'm in. Can I invite the gang?"

"Of course, just as my dad says, the more people to come, the more money to make."

"Then it's settled, I'll call the guys and be there at- Wow!" Dipper cut himself off, as he finally got to see what Mabel has been drawing all this time. It was a fight between three dinosaurs. A pterodactyl, which Dipper presumed it was Aoshima, was flying above the sky while shooting flames towards a T-Rex who had lasers in his eyes while protecting itself from a diplodocus who was using an iron tail to attack. And all of them were fighting over a baby unicorn. "Mabel, this is amazing."

"Thanks... I just have some small adjustments to add and it's ready... Hey, Dipster?" she called him after he successfully passed the huge hole that lead to the abandoned mines.

"Yeah?"

"Will you ever tell me your life story too?"

Dipper paused for a while, before he blinked as if he came back to reality, and then he smiled. "Who knows? Maybe, someday, I will."

Mabel smiled a little too, and then she got out her phone, turning on the video camera."Say something nice Dips." Dipper smiled at the camera with her, before he turned his head and he kissed her cheek. Mabel merely raised an eyebrow, before she squealed happily and slightly stuck her tongue out. She winked at the camera and turned it off. "What was that for?"

"I don't know, I just felt like it... Are you mad?"

"No... Actually, it was cute."

"Dang, I have to go." Dipper said looking at his phone "I'll see you later Mabes."

A few hours later, the party at the Mystery Shack was just getting started. Stan was proudly counting his money, Mabel chose for a funky outfit which said definitely 'party gurl', and Soos was doing an awesome job as the DJ by randomly pressing buttons. Wendy came, at Mabel's invitation and assurance that Dipper will also be there, and Tate tagged along too, after Mabel looked for him through the whole town and befriended a beaver in the process. Mabel was dancing, feeling like she's the soul of the party. Half way through the song, she sits down for a moment, to catch her breath, and drinks some cold water when she notices a lizard on a girl's shoulder. "Wow! You've got an animal on your body!" she exclaimed "I'm Mabel."

"Hi, I'm Grenda." the girl said with a deep manly voice, which Mabel found to be so cool just like the cool guys in the movies, and she gestured towards the other girl "This is Candy." Candy waves to Mabel showing that she had forks taped on her fingers.

"Why do have forks taped to your fingers?"

Candy put her hand into Grenda's bowl of popcorn and when she pulled it out, each finger had some popcorn on it. _"_ Improvement of human being."

Mabel whispers excitedly under her breath "I've found my people!"

"Remember dudes!" Soos said in the microphone, reading from a book _._ "Who ever, um, party hardies, what? Gets the party crown!" he holds up the crown "Most applause at the end of the night wins!" a blonde girl wearing sunglasses walked up to Soos with her friends "Party crown? I'll take that, thank you very much!"

"Who's that?" Mabel asked.

"The most rich and popular girl in town, Pacifica Northwest." Candy said

"I always feel bad about myself around her." Grenda added

"I can't just give you the crown." Soos told her "It's sort of a competition thing."

Pacifica just laughed and picked up the microphone _"_ Honestly, who's gonna compete against me? Fork girl? Lizard Lady?" she and her friends laughed some more. Mock some random people she never met before? Okay. But mock her new people? That's it! Mabel walked over to Soos and she popped up from behind the table "Hey, I'll compete!"

Mabel held out her hand to Pacifica wearing a big smile "I'm Mabel."

Pacifica only mocked her too "That sounds like a fat old lady's name."

Luckily that Mabel couldn't be taken down so easily "I'll take that as a compliment!"

"May the better partier win." snapping her fingers, she and her friends menacingly walk away, disappearing in the shadows.

"Nice meeting you too Pacifica! _..._ She's going down."

Meanwhile, Wendy was sitting on the couch lonely and bored, with her elbows on her legs and her palms holding her face. She stayed with Tate for a while, before he got a call from the police saying that his father was jumping in random pools, looking for a fish, and he had to go. She sighed and wondered when Dipper will show up... not that she had a crush on him, or something... she just thought he was really cool. She sighed and prepared to get up and go home to do her homework for the summer, when the door opened, and Dipper and the gang came in. And suddenly, the homework could wait. Wendy felt herself blush and she had a fantasy where she was just as tall as him and she was wearing a green dress, and he was wearing a black tuxedo, and they were slowly dancing together... Nope... Still denying she has a crush on him.

"Looks like this party needs some weird guys!" he announced, and the others cheered banging their fists in the air, chanting 'Party, part, party.'

"Thompson! I bet five bucks you can't go and dance like an idiot for ten minutes!" Lee challenged

"No fair!" Nate shouted, punching Lee in the shoulder "I was going to challenge him to do that!"

"Oh really? And were you going to put some ice cubes in his pants while he's dancing, too?!"

"Yes, I was!"

"Uhh, guys?"

"NOT NOW THOMPSON!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. If there was a time when these two weren't bickering, Dipper hasn't lived it yet. He saw Robbie was already flirting with a girl, and Tambry was updating her status to no one's surprise. Leaving the other two to argue, while Thompson tried to make things up, he went to the couch and sat next to Wendy.

"How come you're not on the dance floor?" he asked her, and she looked away.

"I don't really know how to dance, and I don't want to embarrass myself. I'm already being teased enough for being so young, though I will eventually grow up. But, if they see me and my horrible dancing skills, I'll never be able to outlive that one."

"Hey, do you want to know a secret?" Dipper leaned in to tell her "A grandma actually beat me at dancing once."

"No way!" Wendy exclaimed with wide eyes, and Dipper laughed.

"It really happened. I only began to dance for a few days, taking it as a hobby. And since Robbie and I were living on the streets and not really knew anyone, while he was doing some shop lifting, I had to distract the people in the store. So I began to do my best dancing moves which were really horrible. Then that grandma walked up to me and danced so much better than me, I was embarrassed all the way back then until now. And now I'm a professional. And guess what? While me and the old lady had our dance off, an entire crowd formed around us, which gave Robbie the opportunity to shop lift as much as he liked... and that's how 'o _ur business'_ started."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not!" Dipper told her, and his eyes moved away just for a moment to see the hot blonde girl he saw at the Mall a few days ago. She was leaving the party, wearing a crown while looking at her nails and followed by her friends. Wendy saw that and she glared at Pacifica. "Look." Dipper turned back to her "If you come with me to the dance floor now, I promise you won't get embarrassed even a little." he held out his hand "What do you say?"

"I think... I'll say yes." Wendy blushed again and she took his hand.

"DIPPER! COME TO MEET MY NEW FRIENDS!" Mabel yelled from the dance floor, waving her arm in the air

"Hi girls! I'm Dipper and this is Wendy." he bend down to her level "Now, don't feel pressured to do anything. Just let the music flow in you and the moves will come by themselves. Okay?" she nodded giving him a small smile "Good. Let's rock!"

"Hey, Dipper!" Mabel jumped on his back "No mystery for tonight?"

"Nope." Dipper smiled at her "Tonight's just about having fun!"

"Well then... HIT IT SOOS!"

"You got it, hambone!"

And while everyone partied their hearts out, Mabel made new friends and they danced like there was no tomorrow, Dipper and Wendy were doing an awesome job as dance partners, and Thompson was running around with a bucket of ice cubes in his pants, and Lee and Nate were high fiving while Tambry was filming everything, and Robbie was out somewhere, and Soos was doing a robot dance, Stan was downstairs in the basement... laughing like a maniac for all the fools he fooled tonight and counting all the money he made... or stole, when people weren't paying attention.

"I should've done this ages ago!"

Everyone was having a good time.


	33. Chapter 33

**_A/: August 5th is the day I turn 18. So far it sucks before it even began, all because of my parents, and it's not even August 5th yet, it's August 4th in my country. But I know my best friend will make it better. Anyway. I made a tradition that every year on my birthday I update all my stories. Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

"Thanks again for letting me stay over the night Stan."

"Don't mention it kid, and remember, tomorrow you have to-"

"Yeah, yeah." Dipper cut him off with a wave of his hand and a small smile "Tomorrow I have to work a full day at the Shack. And if I slack off, I'll have to work for another day and if I complain only once, you will not have to pay me."

"Good. Now go to bed kid, I don't want you to fall asleep tomorrow while there are people to be frauded, I mean entertained." Stan patted the Dipper's hat and then the boy went upstairs. After he made sure there was no one around, Stan walked to the vending machine and pressed the code, the elevator took him to the third level where the portal was almost ready. Only a few pieces were needed to start this beauty... The dreadful part was that those missing pieces were the most expensive ones, and the only way to buy them all at once is to win the lottery. Which will probably never happen... So, for now, his job to build the portal is put away for rest, and his job to keep the boy close gets the priority.

Mabel was in the bathroom while Dipper changed his clothes. Both of them were tired, but neither wanted to go to sleep yet. Putting his Pine Tree on the night stand, Dipper had another look around the room. The feeling he gets when he is inside this room is amazing. "Have you felt like for some reason you're supposed somewhere?" he found himself asking, while sitting on the bed with his arms behind his head, and glancing at the ceiling after she returned.

"Huh?"

"Every single time I enter the Shack I feel like I'm entering my home." he turned his head to her "Like I belonged here all along. And it's weird because not another place has given me this feeling. Not even the Junkyard."

"You've been spending way too much time with that journal." Mabel replied tiredly, rolling in the bed, her arm hanging off the edge. She gave him a teasing smile "Are you sure the feeling is weird? Because I believe you're the one who's weird."

"Shut up." Dipper laughed looking away, rolling around "Good night Mabes."

"Night Mr. Paranormal."

The next day, Stan was the first to wake up. He went to the attic to wake up the kids, but he saw only Mabel in there. She was hugging a plushy to her chest, one arm hanging off the bed, and sleeping in one of his old shirts. He decided he will return to her later, and he went downstairs to find his missing nephew. On his way he passed Soos, who was already in the Shack for work, and he was dancing tango with a broom on salsa music... nothing weird there. Stan needed a cup of coffee. And that's where he found Dipper. He was turning the screws on the old toaster, with one of Stan's screwdrivers, which he forgot all about.

"What'cha doing there kid?"

"Oh, morning." Dipper said, turning the final screws "I had a very weird crave for toast with butter, and when I tried to used the toaster it almost exploded in my face." then he picked up two slices of bread and slid them into the toaster slots. He set it on level 3 and lowered the lever.

"That's because it has been broken for the last two years." Stan replied and poured himself a cup of yesterday's coffee.

"Figured that out. So, I tore all the pieces out until I found the problem. Then I fixed it, and voilà. It works like it's new."

"Couldn't you just eat normal bread like normal people do?"

"Neah." Dipper grinned "I'm too stubborn to do that." and then they both heard a ding. "Toast?"

For the rest of the day, Soos, Mabel and Dipper fooled around the Shack, while Stan wasn't watching, or with them, and pretended to work hard when he was around. Best part is that he pretended not to notice! Which made the day 'awesome' in one word. At least the first part of it.

"By the way." Mabel said after they had a random truth tell game for no reason. Everyone said one truth because so. "I loved how you handled Wendy last night." and now they were all eating a bowl of ice cream to see who gets faster a brain freeze.

"Yeah, well, she's twelve right? That's almost thirteen, and when you're thirteen you're technically a teenager. And a newly teenager needs all the help that they can get."

"Still it was sweet of you to do so... hey, maybe you can make your amends with Tate too?"

"What?"

"Uhh. Guys? My brain is freezing!" Soos yelled falling on the floor "Oh, it hurts so much. The pain is real! The pain is real!"

"Seriously, Dipper!" Mabel ignored Soos, focusing entirely on her best friend "What do you have against that boy?"

"He knows too much. Okay? There's something weird about him, I mean, there's something weird about EVERYONE in this town. He and his dad just... beat them all."

"DUDES! I THINK I'M GOING TO DIE!"

"Not now Soos! We're in the middle of something important here." Mabel said raising her hand, not sparing him a second glance. "Dipper, if you could do it with Wendy, then why won't you try with Tate too? Pleaseeee. Do it for me!" she pouted cutely, waiting for him to crack. It usually worked with Stan.

"TELL ABUELITA I LOVE HER AND I'M SORRY FOR EATING HER MACARONS, BUT THEY WERE LOOKING SO GOOD, I COULDN'T RESIST THE TEMPTATION. AND I'M SORRY FOR LYING ABOUT IT. AND DON'T LET MY COLLECTION OF VIDEO GAMES GET TO REGGIE!"

"Ok fine, I'll do it." Dipper said raising his hands in defeat. Mabel squealed happily jumped on him, knocking him down, without hesitating even a little. "And you know what's the best part?" he had this mischievous grin on his lips that told her the fight is not over. "I have the remote. I control the TV!"

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

And the fight for life and death, the fight for independence of the TV, began. Dipper rolled off her and jumped on his legs, running away. Mabel immediately got up and chased him. And both left Soos passed out on the floor. Mabel and Dipper fought hard for the absolute control of the remote, and when she tried to run upstairs, he grabbed her waist, lifting her off her feet and spun her around. He sneaked it from her, and then tried to run around the hall to mess up with her mind, but she tackled him. Both ended up rolling on the floor a few painful times until they hit a hidden door, which opened easily at the impact with the two and they fell inside a secret room.

"What's this?"

"I have no idea." Mabel was just as surprised as he was "I've never been to this room before. Heck, I never knew it existed in the first place."

"Why would Stan want to hide this?" flicking up the switch, the bulb pulsed a few times, before a weak light covered the room. Mabel closed the old door and glanced around her new surroundings. The walls were painted in a sky blue color with small white clouds all over it. On the floor there was a small rounded carpet, bright blue, and on the carpet there was a baby crib. Glued to the wall, behind the crib was a locked wardrobe and that was everything the room had to show. Dust was everywhere. So, no one has entered this room for years. Touching the bars of the crib, Mabel looked at it for a few minutes. Why was everything in this room designed for a boy? Meanwhile, Dipper went to the wardrobe and first thing he noticed were the three long nail scratches on each door. After easily breaking the lock, he kept his hands on the handles for a little longer. And when he felt Mabel come beside him, he opened it.

Toys. Toys fell out, obviously shoved inside all at once. Having a first look around, there was an unused pack of diapers marked in 2000, and mostly baby clothes... For a boy. Out of the many toys which fell out, one stood out. It was a crib spinning toy and when Dipper held it out, it began to spin and sing like it just came out of the fabric. They looked at each other uneasily, because in the middle of the four spinning animals, there were two light blue hand written letters. 'M' and 'S'.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dipper muttered under his breath. He wondered if the 'm' and 's' meant Mabel and Stan... but then why would everything be blue, for a boy? "You're having any siblings or something?" Mabel shook her head "Is... your dad seeing someone?" Mabel shook her head. "Am I the only one who thinks we have everything we need to complete the puzzle, but the most important piece which links them all, is missing?" Mabel shook her head.

"I think I know what's going on..." Mabel murmured hints of sadness in her voice. Dipper knows what she wants to say. Actually Dipper thought of that the moment they entered the room, but he didn't want to be a jerk and say it out loud and hurt her. Not Mabel. Outside Stan just finished another tour when he found Soos laying on the floor.

"Soos? What are you doing passed out on my floor? Did you clean it first at least? And where are the kids? They were supposed to be working."

Soos raised his head "I'm fine Mr. Pines. The floor is perfect to sleep on it, except that it's not comfortable or pleasant. And Dipper and Mabel found a secret room in the Shack and now they're exploring it, it's just right down the hall."

"What?!" Stan shouted, and wanting to hear no more, he rushed towards the room.

After Stan left, Soos passed out again with his tongue sticking out. Gompers came through the forgotten open door and began to lick his face. "Hahaha. That's really disturbing... Keep going."

But when he reached that damned room, it was too late. The kids have seen it. Both seemed to feel his presence, because almost instantly they turned to look at him. Demanding an explication. "There is a very logical explication for this." he just needs a little more time to make up a semi convincing story.


	34. Chapter 34

The day Mabel Pines was brought to the world was the best of Stan's life. Mainly because for the next eighteen years, he'll have a hell of enough chances to get Carla back together with him. It's the only reason he accepted Mabel to be born. Mabel tied him and Carla forever, whatever both liked it or not. When Carla asked him about names, or what gender he thinks the baby will be, he didn't give a damn and told her she can deal with this part of the issue. Though, he thought it would be easier to deal with a boy. In fact, he was so sure it's going to be a boy, he had never really given the thought that the baby might be a girl. And when it did...

When he was told by the doctor that a baby girl who shares his DNA was born, his mind stopped working properly. At first he didn't hear the cry and he got worried, nearly going to strangle the doctor. And when he did hear it, the baby was presented to him in a pink blanket. Suddenly Carla didn't matter anymore, neither the doc nor the nurses. He had eyes only for that baby. He was charmed by her instantly and it didn't matter anymore that his father threw him out, his brother betrayed him, and his mother did nothing to stop it, because it was all worth it in the end!

Heck, he believed she was the most beautiful on Earth along with his mother and his ex lover by one look at her. Stanley fell in love with Mabel in the moment he first held her in his arms, then he ran away with her when it was implied they were going to take her away from him. That's how much of an impact she had on him. Fifteen years later he still didn't regret doing that, but the bitterness between him and Carla grew as time passed, and it turned to constant fighting because both wanted her all for themselves.

The fight for her custody began a year ago, when Stan decided he wanted to see Mabel more often than the holidays. A few months in a whole year, and they were fighting even about those months. She strongly believed him to be a bad influence on her, and he knew she couldn't provide Mabel with everything she needed, so, he let her sew him for full custody. Because he knew he will never be able to do that. Not that he loves Mabel less, but because he loves Carla too much to do that to either of them. And with mutual agreement, to keep her away from it all, Mabel came to spend the summer with him.

"I know you Stan. And I know you will find a way to keep our daughter with you after the summer ends. It's exactly what you did when she was born."

He paused. The calm of her voice, the assurance in her tone that she is going to win, is making him crazy. "Is it so bad that I want to spend some time with my daughter? It's not like I get to see her every other day, thanks to you."

"I'm doing this because it's the best for her. If it would've been after me, you wouldn't be in her birth certificate."

Ouch. That hurt. "Why are you like that towards me? I've changed Carla!"

"You did? You stopped lying, cheating, and stealing people? You finally grew up enough to be responsible of a teenage daughter and gave up being as childish as you were? You realized what you're going to do with your life? Or what do you want from life?" Stan's answer for all of these questions was 'no'. He kept silent and he heard her sigh from the other side. "Don't ask me how... or why... because I really don't know." Oh great, she is going to say something to bury his pride into the ground "But I still love you." wow... He didn't expect to hear that. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"After all this time?"

"Always."

He knew very well what he was getting into when he shook the demon's hand. Letting Carla win the process was like a signing a paper of not seeing his daughter for the rest of his life maybe. It was something he couldn't let happen. His parents left him, his older brother left him, his twin left him, she left him, his nephew wasn't there in the first place, Soos will leave him soon it's just a matter of time, and if Mabel will leave him too... that will destroy him. Because Mabel is his greatest achievement in life, she's his baby girl, and losing her meant dying alone after living a life most would consider miserable. But it wasn't the thought of dying alone that had him so scared, he could care less about that, it was the fact that some day she might grow to hate him. Hate him enough to leave him too. That's what scares him most and makes him want to die before that happens, he knows he won't be able to live through it.

 _"Tell me about my brother!" he demanded after the deal was sealed "I want to know about him!"_

 _Bill rolled his eye "All I can say is that he's very alive, and for the moment he's very fine."_

 _"Then here's what you're going to do, you illuminati. You're going straight to my brother, and tell him that his son is alive and fine as well."_

 _The yellow triangle scoffs. "And why would I do that?"_

 _"Do you want me to call our deal off?"_

 _"Fine, fine! No need to do such reckless thing. Geez."_

And this is why at that moment he wished to tell the kids everything. Too bad his hands were tied. Damn Ford and his big house! If he was sleeping with the baby anyway, why the need to build up a room for him? He sees Dipper, who is expecting some answers now, and he sees Mabel, her fingers gently touching the hand written letters 'M' and 'S'. Her face is full of disappointment, and sadness, and hurt in the same time. She refuses to look at him.

"I wonder why I didn't get this sooner, I mean it was in my face the whole time and I didn't realize it."

Stan visibly relaxes. If the kids figured it out, then it's great! The demon said that he was not to tell them anything, but he never mentioned anything about them figuring it out on their own.

"I mean, why would he beat up every single guy that walks up in my face?" she's speaking to Dipper as if she doesn't know he's there too.

"I thought about that too." Dipper agreed with her "I mean with a few theories and some investigation on his behavior, it was obvious..." he sighed and his stuck his hands in his pockets "I just didn't want to be the one who says it."

"And to hide this room from me all these years... damn I wished I could've figured it out sooner, so when this moment came I would've prepare myself long before." why is this weird feeling of a disaster soon to happen nagging Stan all of a sudden? He gulps and he takes a step forward. She turns to face him, and her lips curl into a smile. Her eyes don't.

"Mabel, honey-"

"Why didn't you tell me that you always wanted to a boy instead of a girl?" she cuts him off, and her eyes are on the verge of tears. Stan is thunderstruck when he hears her, the knife turns more in the wound when he figures she's totally meaning it. "How could you even spend so many years looking at me, a girl? It's obvious to me that you build this room because you were too excited about having a boy!"

"Mabel, that's not true!"

"If you would've told me from the beginning it would've been just so much easier!"

"How so?" Stan counters her and crosses his arms to his chest

"Because if I knew back then that you see my gender as a mistake than I would stop seeing you as my hero." Stan's arms drop from his chest, and out of sudden he finds the air to hard to breathe. "I thought you love me enough to let go of that! I thought you loved me because of me, not because you pity me!" tears start to fall from her eyes, and Stan soon is going to lose it as well. "All these years you made me believe I'm your greatest achievement in life, you never told me you actually think I'm your biggest mistake! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to know that? Mom... always told me you aren't a good influence on me... and I fought anyone who tried to bring you down in my eyes, but maybe they were right all along!"

"Then why won't you go to them and be their daughter?" His stubbornness Jersey native got the best out of him. He shouldn't have said that and he knows it.

"Because I wanted you..." she mutters in a heartbroken tone, and despite her tears, she smiles."I love you. With all your flaws. And boy, they are so many." Can't argue there. "And I can't undo the love I have for you. It grew into something big and I was proud to be called your daughter despite everything that you do. I'm sorry you were so disappointed with me all along..." she moves past him and walks away. He is too stunned to move or to make a sound. Soos sits in a corner crying like a baby with a bucket of popcorn in his arms, while Dipper hands him tissues. He blew his nose into the popcorn and ate the tissues.

Stan runs out of the Shack, trying to make up what he still could before it's too late. "Mabel! Wait, honey!"

She turns sharply to Stan "Don't follow me! I don't want to see you anymore. I need to be alone right now!"

He approaches her, and takes her hands in his. "No, you don't. You hate being alone. Let me fix this! I can fix this!"

"Give me a call when you will." breaking away from his grasp, she disappeared in the forest. And Stanley realizes that his worst fear just came true... And it hurt so much fucking more than he thought it would.

 _ ***In Another Dimension***_

"Hey ya, smart guy!"

Ford gasped and immediately got in front of the Oracle, his arms blocking Bill to get to her before getting to him first. "What are you doing here Cipher?! If Space Time Police catches you here-"

"Aww. Bummer. If that happens then you will not be the one who destroys me. And boy how much you want that." Bill laughed "Hello, lady. Name's Bill. I'm Sixer's best friend!" he raised his hat presenting himself, and then laughed more. Shooting Star is so hurt, it's almost sad. "Don't worry lady, I won't steal Fordsy from you. A part of a deal I made was to find Six Fingers and share some information. Hey, Fordsy, your boy is alive and well. There, done!"

An unexpected blast ripped him to shreds. It tickled! But also it took some time to regenerate. And to his absolute no surprise, Ford had one of his newest inventions pointed at him.

"Stay away from my son!" it's the most alive Bill has seen Ford since he went through the portal. The wild look in his eyes, ready to murder anyone. The anger. Oh, what a delight.

"I can't do that. I've taken a quite liking into him. I have big plans coming, and your sweet offspring is my principal pawn! Try to kill me once I'll fully posses your son, that will be fun to watch!"

Ford pulled the trigger again.


	35. Chapter 35

"Hello Tate."

The fourteen year old boy jumped when he heard that voice, and backed a few steps when he realized it's Dipper who came to see him.

"Holy Dolly Molly!" old man McGucket shouts, slapping his leg excitedly "I have a visitor. Last time when someone visited me, it was never ago!" then his shoulders sank, and he looked down, while taking off his hat and holding it to his chest, making a very sad face "My son, whose name I can't remember, used to visit me. But I lost him many years ago..."

"Uhh, dad? I'm right here..."

"Sometimes I can still hear his voice."

Tate opened his mouth, but closed it back and shook his head. Turning to Dipper, he couldn't help but ask. "What are you doing here?" He had to admit it was pleasant to talk to someone who is normal for once in a while. Even if that person is someone who tried a few times to take away his life.

Dipper shrugged and said it as if it was a regular thing he did "I came to talk to you." Tate might be young, but not stupid. "Actually, I came here at Mabel's constant bugging... To make my amends with you." after she stormed out when they found Stan's secret, he didn't really think he's going to come here and talk to the boy, since his intentions were to return to the Junkyard and play some loud music with the gang and maybe rehearse again for their next show. He has no idea how he ended up there... "Care for a snack?"

 _ ***A little later***_

"How come you chose this place? It's very nice by the way."

"Well, for starters it's cheap." Dipper replied "Second, a friend of mine is working here." just then a dimwitted, sluggish woman with grey hair in a beehive hairstyle, wearing a grayish rose dress, and a white apron around her waist with a brown stain that looks like coffee, walked up to them.

"Hello sweethearts. Here's your unordered pancakes, made by the one and only me." she laid her hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Consider this a 'welcome back' gift. I haven't seen you around in a while."

"Thanks Susan." his hand went up and touched hers "I really appreciate it. And sorry for not coming sooner, but me and the guys have been pretty busy with our shows. It's getting really tough to keep people interested without boring them, and it's our thing to always outdo ourselves and never do the same show twice." he gave her a terribly kind smile, one which Tate has seen him give only to Mabel so far. Or maybe not, he doesn't remember too well. "Our next one is this Sunday, at the church. The priest came to us, and because we are such an attraction to people, he offered us a nice sum for one representation. We're not necessarily going to dance, but we're going to do something that will motivate the others to keep hoping and believing."

"I wouldn't miss for anything in the world." Susan told him, and then she left to attend another order.

"She's nice." Tate said after she left their table "And very friendly. Do you know each other?"

"Not really." Dipper replied, cutting the pancakes in small pieces. "But ever since I met her, she has been nothing but kind to me. All I know about her is that her name is Susan, the nickname 'Lazy Susan' comes from her eye, she's single, she has no relatives, and she has been working here for the past ten years." taking one in his mouth, he closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure. Absolutely delicious. As always. "She is also very lonely, and has taken a liking into me. So much, that she invited me and the guys to stay over at her house when winter comes." he chuckled lightly "The way she acts around me, is as if she knew me for years."

Tate chuckled along. When Dipper isn't acting all crazy, he is a nice person to have around you. "You don't have anything for Sunday do you?"

"No." Dipper cried his head falling on the table "We can't come up with anything, we haven't done anything religious before. We're so screwed up..."

"Don't worry, you'll come up with something."

"How come you're so smart for your age when you dad is...?"

"The local kook?" Tate completed the sentence "Mildly senile? Kind of insane?"

"Yeeeaah... That."

The younger of the two shrugged with a small smile. "I don't know. I like to believe that once upon a time he was normal. And even though most times he doesn't remember my name, and keeps telling people I'm dead, those brief moments of not so crazy he does the things he does because he wants attention. Sure, he's dancing ridiculously most times and always comes up with odd words and phrases. But I like about him that he's optimistic, helpful, friendly, and quite protective of me when he remembers I'm his son."

"You must really love your dad." Dipper said taking a sip of the hot cocoa Susan left them.

"Well... he's all I've got. I don't know anything about my mother. And... someone has to take care of my dad, but nobody wants to. It's not like I'm complaining or something. If you will get to know him, I'm sure you'll like him too."

"Thanks, but I'm taking baby steps here." Dipper looked around to see if someone is listening to their conversation, then he leaned in. "So... How did you find out about the weird stuff happening here?"

Tate laughs again. "Whatever town might it be, if my dad is in it, then be sure there is no secret that I do not know of." Then asks Dipper how _he_ knows, to which the older of the two proceeds to explain about the old journal he found in the woods. Needless to say, Tate was just amazed as Dipper when he first found it. And they had a wonderful chat for the next hour about every single creature they've found so far, they ate their food long ago, it was getting late and they were still talking. After the close up hour came, they took a long walk. Neither of them had a specific destination in mind, but somehow they ended up on the beach. Gathering lots stones, they walked on the deck and sat down with their legs dangling above the water. And like little children, they began to throw the stones. Which soon turned into a stone skipping game.

"Would you mind if I asked you something on personal matters?"

"I don't think so... shoot."

"Why are you so determined to hurt me? I've seen you hurt other people before, but it's like you want me wiped out of the world or something."

Dipper looked taken back by the question itself, and his face flashed such confuseness that Tate believed for a moment he remembers nothing. After a long sigh, running his hand over his face, he finally spoke. "As every magical creature existent in this down, there also exist demons. Particularly one them, the craziest and most powerful, is after me."

"Why?"

"I have no idea." Dipper threw one stone forcefully and it skipped four times before it went down. Then his hands went on his lap and he quitted the game "I met him in the first night I came to Gravity Falls. He said he will tell me anything I want to know about my real family, and in exchange, I had to allow him to posses my body. Soon I learned that Bill was using my body to hurt people who disobeyed him, and during the day I wasn't able to remember anything. As soon as I figured it out I called the deal off. It's the one thing he hates, because when the dealer calls it off, Bill loses all of his powers over that person. He was so mad at me, that he did one final thing and gave me back my sickness from when I was an infant, yelling that he will make sure I'll never meet my true family." his head turned to the younger boy, apology sincere in his eyes. "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you in any physical or psychical way."

"It's alright, really." Tate reassured him. "I have a confession to make myself. Bill is after me too, and now I understand why you were like that to me."

"What have you done to Bill?" Dipper surprised to hear that, nearly shocked.

"I was born. That's what happened. I believe that Bill has something to do with my father and his mental state. Because by using you and other people, he has tried to take my life numerous times. You see, a little later after my dad went crazy, he raped a woman and she got pregnant with me. If Bill is responsible for my father, then somehow I am his creation. I can see the future... sort of... I see things happening, and even if they don't happen the way I see it, they do come true."

Dipper got to the conclusion fast. "And you don't like Bill, and now he sees you as a threat, and he wants you dead. Welcome to the club..." he gave a small chuckle "Do you want to know why I took the deal in the first place?" he looked up at the night's sky full of stars and smiled a little. "To have a real family means everything to me. To know that there is someone out there in the world who loves you unconditionally, is a wonderful feeling I never got to feel. But I wish to... I want to give someone the chance to hurt me so badly that I would never be able to recover, and to trust them enough to know they won't do it."

"But you do have a family Dipper." Tate said softly "You just haven't realized that yet... family doesn't necessarily mean people who share your blood. It's about the people in your life who want you to be in theirs. People who accept you, and support you, and are there for you no matter what, through the good and the bad."

The boy with the Pine Tree hat scoffed before the realization hit him. "You're right..." he muttered under his breath with widened eyes "I do have a family... I have a family!" he exclaimed happily, grabbing another stone he threw it in the water and it skipped five times. Tate smiled too, glad to be helpful. "Oh no, Mabel!" Dipper's happiness turned to full worry in a second. "I have to find her!" getting up in a rush, he began to run. Who knows where she is now? What if she's in danger? But then Dipper stopped and turned around. "Hey, Tate!" he yelled

"What is it?" the other yelled back

"After I'll find Mabel tonight, tomorrow morning, I'll come to the orphanage to take you! From now on, you'll be living with me and the gang at the Junkyard!" Tate broke into a huge smile "You said it yourself, they don't care too much about what happens to you. Plus that, from now you're part of my family!"


	36. Chapter 36

**_A/N: If Mabel is played in this story by Nina Dobrev, just so you know, Ian stands out for real life Ian Somerhalder. I still love this couple so much._**

* * *

 ** _*In Another Dimension*_**

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. But I have to." Ford replied packing his weapons "I have to find my home dimension. And since the portal I've been trying to build is destroyed, I have to do it in the old way and hop through dimensions until I find the right one."

"But your wounds haven't healed yet." The Oracle cried worriedly "You're still recovering, and you haven't even slept your full 8 hours yet!"

Tying the biggest weapon on his back, Ford turned to the Oracle with a soft smile and took her hands in his. "I know. And I'm sorry for leaving you like this. I promise I'll come to visit when I find a safe way. I'll even bring my son to meet you."

"You never told me you had a son. Ever since Bill Cipher mentioned him, you've been acting strange." Maybe there was tiny bit part of her that grew too attached to Ford to let him go so soon. And seeing him so worried for another human being like him maybe made a tiny bit part of her jealous.

"I haven't seen him since he was a baby. God, he could pass me by on the street and I wouldn't even know it! I don't know what he looks like or where he is now, but Bill is after him and I'll go beyond my limits to protect my son." Ford tried to explain to her the concept of human reproduction. Awkwardly, very very awkwardly, he told her about sexual intercourses between a male and a female from which often results a baby. That if there is no kind of protection used. He told her how it's not strictly necessary to have sexual intercourse for a woman to have a baby, that sometimes it just happens.

"And did you have sexual intercourse to get your son?" When she asked him that, his face was all redder than blood. Touching his cheeks they were presenting an unnatural temperature, and his stuttering was so bad, she thought he forgot how to speak. She really had no idea how much she embarrassed the nerd with that question. She blinked, and when she repeated the question, if possible his face went redder. A few moments of silence between the two, before Stanford yells 'bye' and hops to the next dimension.

The Oracle merely kept her smile straight, and only when she was sure that he was gone, she began to laugh with tears. Jshelbraum knew very well about the sexual intercourse between humans. But to have Stanford explain it to her, turned out to be much better.

 ** _*Real World*_**

Dipper first checked back at the Shack, but Mabel hasn't returned. Stan told him, that he won't go and look for her when she doesn't want to see him. He'd rather have Dipper find her and bring her home so they could talk it out. He told Dipper to find her, and no matter what it takes, to bring her home safe and sound. Or else he would kill Dipper. Then he got into his car and drove off to Vegas for the weekend.

Dipper had an idea where to find Mabel. Given that their last few meetings were at the old and abandoned church of Gravity Falls, there was a good chance that she might be there. Elsewhere he didn't know where to look. And he found her there, petting Aoshima.

"Hey there..."

"Hi."

Dipper looked down and walked over to her. He looked at her, and then he looked away. What was he supposed to say? What should he tell to make her feel better? "I'm sure Stan didn't mean to tell you all those stuff." Maybe he shouldn't have started with that.

Mabel gave a small smile and wiped her tears with her free hand. "I know he doesn't... At least not anymore. But in the past he did... and that's what hurts most."

"I talked to Tate." He told her on a happier tone. Maybe that will lift her mood. "Turns out he's not that weird... And I told him tomorrow morning to have his things packed because he will live with me and the gang at the Junkyard from now on instead of that orphanage he's been forced in."

"I'm glad Dipper." Mabel told him "You two are paranormal freaks, I knew you were made for each other."

"And we also have you to keep us down on Earth." He lightly nudged her shoulder with his. "You're amazing Mabes. And Stan knows that too. That's why he loves you just the way you are, even if he doesn't say it. In your heart you know the truth."

"I do." Mabel muttered, moving her hand away. Aoshima raised his head and flew inside the abandoned mines. Bringing her knees to her chest, she let the new tears fall. "It's just that... I've done something bad. Something really bad. And now that I know he never wanted to have a daughter, if he'll ever find out, then he will hate me forever and will continue to wish I was a boy for the rest of his life." She sobbed loudly and buried her head between her knees "And I can't live like that. I can't live while knowing one of my favorite people in the whole world hates me."

Dipper scoffed, not able to help himself. Only the thought being ridiculous beyond comparing. "And what did you do? Forgot to give his plants a sticker for having a green thumb?" he laughed a little more. It took him a while before he finally caught on, and his amusement faded right away. "Oh my gosh, you're serious!"

"Of course I am!" Mabel cried at him "It's not only you who has a bad past Dipper!" she knew she wasn't meaning those things, but she also knew she had to get it off her chest. "We've all went through some hard stuff in our lives, don't be so surprised I've had my share!" and who else could be a better person than Dipper for the job?

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't be so tough with yourself." he attentioned her softly, his arm wrapping around her shoulder in a comforting way. "Whatever it is, it can't be that worse. Nothing the Mystery Twins can't handle."

"I thought you hated that."

"I'm starting to accept it."

Mabel and Dipper bumped their fists together and sealed the moment. She leaned her head on his shoulder, just as Aoshima flew outside the church probably to hunt for something. "It happened a few months ago. I entered my period of teenager's rebellion, and I was fighting with my mom from basically anything. Whatever she'd told me, I'd just flip out on her. And it would turn in such ugly fights, we wouldn't speak to each other for a few days, even though we were living in the same place. And umm... there was this 'cool' girl at my school. And she was throwing a big birthday party for her big sister. And I get along with both of them, so I said 'Yes, I'll be there'. When my mom found out, she threw me this big tantrum. That night she was supposed to go out with a guy and have dinner at a restaurant far away from where the party was, and she told me that absolutely and under no circumstances I am allowed to go to that party. She ended up locking me inside the apartment, so I went out through the window. Outside the building there's this huge tree, and all I had to do was jump through the window and reach one branch. I'm a professional gymnast so it was piece of cake for me."

"Really? She left you, even though she knew about that tree _and_ you being a gymnast?"

"In her defense, she didn't really think I was that crazy." Mabel replied with a small smirk "I have it from my dad... the thing is... I went to the party and I met this... incredible hot looking guy, with the deepest blue eyes and the sexiest facial expressions I've ever seen. His name is Ian, and when he invited me on the dance floor I couldn't say no. We partied the whole night, and then he drove me home. For the next few days we haven't spoken, we haven't even shared our phone numbers because I knew my mom would find a way to stick her nose into my business. Then a week later, I went to the gym. And... I found Ian there. My coach said that the gym was to be closed, and Ian went out and bought it. When I asked him why did he do that, he said that at the party my friend Caroline told him we're both gymnasts and that's where we usually spend most of our time. He said it was worth the try and the money if that meant he could see me again."

"The whole gym?" Dipper exclaimed "Holy Saint Bernard! How rich is that guy?!"

"Well... let's just say that he is able to buy Gravity Falls, demolish it, and rebuild it again. Whatever. Since Ian owned the gym, we saw each other a lot more. And it grew into something... He looked out for me a lot. And he never raised his voice at me, or treated me rudely, or forced me to do anything I don't want to. When I told him that I'm not ready yet to have my first time, he said that he's willing to wait as long as I want to. That I'm worth the wait. The day of my accident was what gave us out. I was at the balance beams, I had a monstrous fight with mom the night before, and I wasn't in a good shape. Ian was there and he encouraged me to do my best, mom wasn't. I told her I don't want her there and I honestly didn't know that she's going to listen to me, if I did, I wouldn't have said that... So. My big day, the balance beams. I had it. The golden medal, I had it. I could feel it. It was going to be mine."

"Did your mother come in the end?"

"She did... when I saw her there, I was so happy. I gave out 110% and almost had the medal. I began my number at the balance beams, and then I caught a glimpse of my mom... kissing my coach, who was happily married from what I knew, and my friend Caroline's father... I was so shocked when I saw them. I felt the betrayal more than ever. I couldn't concentrate anymore. She turned back to me, and our eyes met... and that's when I had the fall. I slipped up, hit my head on the wood, and broken my leg by twisting it at an inexistent angle. I was out cold for a few days, and Ian visited me so often, and left me flowers, and cards, and paid for my hospitalization, the nurses thought he was part of my family. When they told mom about him, she figured our relationship our and forbidden me to ever see him again. She took my phone, changed my number, and send me over to Gravity Falls. In the mean time, I've realized my mistake of dating him, and we broke up... now I think he's going to come and look for me here... and I really don't care what my mom thinks about him, when it's my dad's opinion I care about most."

Dipper was confused. "I don't get it, why would they be so against the relationship? Especially if the guy has tons of money and treated you so nice."

Mabel sighed deeply and ran her hands over her face, before she pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. Going to the gallery, Dipper's eyes widened when he saw the pictures and almost couldn't believe it. "Dippster. That's my ex-boyfriend Ian, really hot, very rich, and super kind... And eleven years older than me."


	37. Chapter 37

"You... Dated a guy who is eleven years older than you." Mabel took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Yes... What she did was so wrong, but Ian was such an amazing guy. Who... Was 26 years old. And she was 15. Lately she felt so suffocated. She felt like she was in a square bubble and couldn't escape it. She was in a hell hole and her mother was the guardian. Mabel knew Carla meant only what's best for her... But still. And then, there's Dipper. No one from Gravity Falls knew about this excepting Dipper, but if he judges her... They formed such a tight bond in such a short time, she just couldn't let it be broken like that. She didn't want that. And the way he said that phrase, doesn't help this situation at all. "So what?"

"What?" Mabel exclaimed, raising her head from his shoulder. Looking at him to see if he's joking or not, she saw that he wasn't... Or he was a really good dancer/singer/actor.

Dipper smiled and kissed her head. "Mabes, you dated an older guy. Big deal. As you said you've had your share just like the rest of us. I've heard the gang's stories, I've heard Tate's, and now I've heard yours... And I certainly know what I've been through." Looking at her in the eye, his hand went up to her cheeks and wiped her tears. "I'm not going to judge you for this. I'll never judge you for anything you do... It's your life. It's your job to make mistakes so you can learn from them. And if you want to keep dating this guy, then fine, do it! I'll always be there to support you and your choices no matter what."

Tears formed in her eyes while listening to him. Shaking her head, she went to hug the life out of him. Oh God... What did she ever do to deserve such a good friend like him? If only they were related so they could spend more time together than just a summer.

"And you know what? Since you've had the courage to tell me about your past, then I don't see why I shouldn't tell you about mine."

"Dipper, you don't have to." Mabel said softly, touching his hands with her palms.

"I know." He replied kissing her forehead "But I want to." Then he pulled her in his arms and gave her a hug. "Jesus, I'm so glad I met you." He muttered burring his head in her shoulder. "You've changed me. You made me a better person, and I'm not sure where I would stand right now if I haven't met you."

"Well, you'd still hate Tate without reason because you wouldn't know his story. You wouldn't know who your mother was, wait that means you wouldn't have gone to the funeral which means... You know what, let's cut that out of the list. Anyway, you-"

"I got it. I got it." Dipper chuckled pulling away.

"And most likely you would've been eaten by Aoshima... OK, now I'm done."

He smiled at her. He would lie if he ever said Mabel's personality didn't get out the best of him. He licked his lips and scratched his cheek. He always feels insecure about his past, and he realized he will never be able to let it go, even though he knows Mabel will never judge him as he will never judge her... but he can't help to judge himself... maybe if he would've been a better son, his parents wouldn't have given up on him. "Up until I was 4, I lived in an orphanage where I liked nobody and nobody liked me. One of the few people I liked there told me I was going to be adopted by a loving family. I grabbed her skirts, and begged her to not let me go. I promised I will always clean my room, wash my own clothes, cook for myself, I swore I would never bother her or anyone else as long as they let me stay there."

"Let me guess, they let you stay and you had a very happy life afterwards!"

"Nope." Dipper laughed "But I'm pretty sure they had a good laugh about it after I was gone. I went with those people who adopted me, but the thing is... they were obsessed with money. And the town we were living had a specific law to not give allowance to the adopted children because they don't share blood with parents."

"And they were people with good hearts decided to let go, right?" Mabel asked hopefully

"Strike two. They adopted another two children for another law in that town... if any child presents emotional or physical damage then the States pay for the recovery entirely and to the parents they give what they call 'payment for the moral damage they have been through.' For the next 8 years of my life I've been their victim of slavery and abuse." His fell impassive as coldness spread into the air "They made me and the other children do their housework and if there was anything wrong they would hit us with the biggest pleasure." He turned to Mabel with his back and lifted his shirt to show his marks. She gasped and slowly moved her hand to touch them. Her heart beat increased fast, and took a moment to thank God for giving her parents who never touched her in the wrong way. "The belt wasn't the only thing painful."

"Why?" She asked with tears in her eyes, hugging Dipper from behind.

"For the money." He sighed, pulling his shirt down. "They wouldn't care how much it would hurt as long as our recovery was paid by the States and they were getting their share. They would have the excuses prepared ahead and we were put to repeat a specific one until they were the only were words we knew. Mine was 'I fell on the stairs.' Parker, one of the other two children, had 'I wanted to try something new.' and Lucy, the girl, had to say 'I wasn't careful.' Frankly, one time I really did fell on the stairs, that's why one of the marks is on my spine."

She looked into his eyes "D-Did they...?"

Long silence. "Yes." The word was whispered in such painful way that Mabel told him to stop telling the story for now and go home "No. If I don't do this, then I won't be able to move on faster." Though Mabel had a feeling that he could never move on no matter how much he wanted to. "They made Lucy push me down the stairs and see what happens to me once I get down. I was unconscious for over a week and when I woke up in the hospital bed there was a stranger there. He was wearing a police uniform and told me his name was Doug. He came to the town to investigate the case of me, Parker and Lucy because in those 8 years we went to the hospital presenting injuries more than any other child in that town."

"And you told him what really happened right?"

Sadness crossed his face. "How could I? I was terrified by what they could do to me. I lied. Clutching the sheets in my bruised fists looking down ashamed of myself I told him that I fell on the stairs. He didn't believe me at first and asked me a couple of times more if that's what really happened. I kept repeating 'I fell on the stairs' like a broken doll that he got bored to hear me say it and he left. After I went back to their house, they asked me what did I tell, all I said was 'I fell on the stairs'.

 _*Flash Back*_

 _Beaten, bruised, wounded, with a purple eye, a broken nose with a bandage over it, and a swollen lip with dried blood on it. That's how young Dipper started his morning the day after he returned in that house from the hospital. His back cracked with every move, and he feared the wounds might reopen. He wished he could've told that policeman the truth, but he was far too weak to do so. And he hated himself for it. He couldn't even lift the spoon without his hand shaking so bad that all of the content would drop back into the bowl._

 _"What are you saying boy?!" his adoptive father growled at him "You're saying you don't like my wife's cooking?"_

 _"N-No!" Dipper began to shake badly, his voice was hoarse, and his throat hurt when he spoke "It's very good, r-really!"_

 _"You're lying to me! I HATE LIARS!" the man roared, slamming his fist against the table. He bend over and took Dipper by his shirt. Dragging him into the living room, he threw the poor boy on the floor who covered his eyes expecting for the worst. A whimper of fear passed his lips when he heard the belt undoing. His back has suffered enough, and now his chest was getting its share. So he waited..._

 _And then a miracle happened._

 _"FREEZE! IT'S THE POLICE! NO ONE MOVES!" it was Doug who kicked the door open with a gun in his hands, who spend the night hiding and watching the house and intervened when he heard yelling in the first hours of the morning. His partners came in and put the handcuffs on the man and woman, while the Child Services took the other children. It was Doug who approached Dipper and took the boy in his arms, whispering softly 'It's over you're safe now.'_

 _And it was fate punishing Dipper all over again when he got his second adoptive family. A lonely man in his late forties who had no family, or wife, or child. They were so many toys in the house that Dipper couldn't wait to play with all of them. He thought that he had hit the jackpot, but soon he learned the odious truth. One time his ball fell into the basement, and he ran to pick up. The boy had the shock of life, and the ball dropped to the ground suddenly no more important._

 _The room's walls were filled with lots of pictures of half naked young boys... and some of them were marked with a red 'X' while others weren't. Dipper paled when he saw a picture of himself there, marked with that day's date. Dipper ran to the phone into the living and called Doug again, who came to his rescue, just as his second adoptive father came through the door to tell Dipper about a game that he wants them to play together._

 _*End of Flash Back*_

 _"_ I was so afraid they would make me go to another horrible family that I ran away." Dipper was crying and he didn't even know it. It happened when he told this story the first time too. And Mabel was crying with him. "I ran away and I never got to tell Doug that he is my hero and my savior and that I'll always be grateful for everything he has ever done for me. I lived on the streets for a few years doing various jobs, luckily it was nothing dirty, and one day I had enough money for a bus ticket to Gravity Falls. That's where I met Robbie and learned that Doug was his uncle."

* * *

 ** _A/N: Look at the date guys. I can't believe it's been a whole fucking YEAR of Snow Storm. I'm so happy, and so grateful that you stuck with me so long and read my story. As a kind of celebration, you can ask anything that you want to know. Let it be about the characters, their past, their future, their role, future things to happen, future couples, or earlier ideas that I had, or even about possible sequels! P.M. me or leave the question as a review and I promise I'll answer them all. No hesitation, bring it on!_**


	38. Chapter 38

After they told each other their personal stories, they decided it was time to return... to an empty Mystery Shack. "Where is my dad?"

"Oh, he said something about going to Vegas for the weekend, and I also gave Soos a few days off, he looked like he needed them." Dipper replied scratching his head "I should probably go too."

"No don't." Mabel said quickly "Don't... leave me alone here." This place is dark and big, and due recent events, it's not exactly on her top 5 favorites anymore. And she hates being alone. She always hated being alone.

Dipper nodded, muttering a small "Ok... but... first let me get Tate out of that place. I think I will sleep better tonight if I know that he's already with me. Plus, it will save me from waking up early tomorrow morning." Mabel nodded understandingly, but Dipper wasn't convinced yet. So he took her in his arms and whispered "I promise it won't take too long. I'll try to be quick and come back as soon as possible."

"Ok... but you have to buy me some chocolate chips."

"Is that your way to deal with it?"

"No, I'm just in the mood for chocolate chips. But if you stop middle road to study some dumb creature from the journal, then I'll ask for far more than that." Dipper gulped. One, because he knew she meant every word. Two, because when it comes to sweets, Mabel Pines doesn't want a thing or two. Nope, she wants like the whole store. And then she gets sugar hyper, but that's another story for another time. Naturally, he hurried out of the Shack. The longer he stayed, the longer time he gave Mabel to change her mind. The orphanage wasn't that far, but not that close either. And Dipper could tell that any kid who got in here, wanted to get out just as fast.

"Hello. Is anyone here?"

"Can I help you, young man?" One of the sisters came out of a room.

"Yes. I would like to take out one of the children. Tate McGucket."

"Oh, thank God." The sister cried in relief, clapping her hands together as in a prayer. That wasn't the kind of reaction Dipper expected, but it sure as hell made his job easier, so he welcomed it with open arms. "That kid has been freaking me out since forever, if his father was even half mentally healthy I would've given him back right away."

"Let's go Dipper." Tate came down the stairs with his things in a suitcase. "Goodbye Sister Gabrielle." And with that he went out of the orphanage like taking a walk in the park. And Dipper ran out after him.

"Hey, Tate. Wait up." He caught up with the younger boy "What was that back there? Did you hear what she said?"

"I saw from the window that you were coming. I had my things already packed because I was excited to finally leave this place." Tate replied "And yes, I did hear what she said. Of I am honest with you, it's one of the nicest things she ever said about me. I didn't even want to end up there, but someone put me forcefully after telling the authorities that my dad isn't mentally healthy enough to take care of me. Don't know what we ever did to that man to deserve such punishment. Anyway, thanks to him, now everyone knows I'm insane too. Just that I'm not. I only see the future and nobody believes me. So the bullying that came with it, was pretty expected."

"Hey!" Dipper heard enough. He stopped walking, grabbed Tate's shoulders and turned the boy to face him "If you're horrible to me, I'm going to write a song about it, and you won't like it. That's how I operate. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." Tate raised his eye brows, not quite understanding what the other meant with this. Or the story with the elephant and the mouse. "Bullying is not ok! Never let anyone tell you that you're not good enough! Never let yourself be bullied in silence again! In the end you might be the only surgeon who could save your bully's life. And if you still receive such treatment from now, come straight to me." He held out his pinky finger "Promise me that whenever you have a problem, you'll stop suffering alone. Suffering together is much better."

Tate nodded. "I promise." And the two tied their promise forever.

"Good. Now let's go to the store and grab some snacks and go to the forest. Magic is most alive at these late hours. I'll text Mabel, tell her I'm sorry and that I'll make up for it later. And while we're studying any cool creature from the journal, you can also help me work on the song that just popped in my head. The dead line is tomorrow, so we have a lot of work to do. Would you like that?"

Tate laughed, his eyes finally shining "It sounds great!"

 ** _*To The Mystery Shack*_**

Dipper barely left, and Mabel was already feeling lonely. She went to that baby room which started it all. She stepped inside the room and the first tear fell because she felt that the love put in this room was immense. And then she asked herself what she had ever done wrong. She was a good student (not really), she never lied (well she did when she had to), and she never caused trouble (too much). Walking back in the living room, she wrapped her arms around herself as she watched over all the pictures Stan had attached to the wall. Pictures of her taken either by her father or her mother. Her first competition, her first medal, her first steps, her sleeping in Stan's arms, her throwing food at her mother, and so on.

Man...They really did a good job at pretending to be happy for her sake. And then she wondered for how long they are going to keep this up. Hearing the phone ringing, she ran to answer it, thinking it was Stan calling. To hear the voice of another man, who was also looking Stan, was pretty disappointing.

"What is the message sir? I can tell him."

"Thank you sweetheart, but this is something I can only discuss with your dad." Stan must have done something bad... usually she wouldn't do this... but she was tired of secrets and she wanted to end them once and for all!

"He's sick and right now he is resting upstairs. Could you wait until I put him on the line?" She took a few steps back and forth to make it sound like she was taking the stairs and then quietly cleared her throat and did her best Stan's voice impression. "Stanford Pines here. If it's the bill people then I'm dead and this is a voice record."

"It's Enrique, Stan. Your lawyer. Man, you sound awful."

"I'm sick as hell. I think the Black Lady will soon come for me."

"Stop being so over dramatic every time you get a cold."

Mabel rolled her eyes. Her father did that a lot, didn't he? "Anyway, your daughter almost found out about the process. You have to be more careful with this from now on." Process?... What process? "Seems like angels spit on us man, like you won the lottery of luck or something. Honestly, your ex right now stands no chance in winning the custody process. Your daughter will be yours 100% and finally after these long years of fighting, you and your ex can put it behind... Hello?... Hello? Stan? Are you still there? Fuck! The line must've disconnected or something. Now I have to call another time."

Enrique hung up the call, having no idea that he just told Mabel what this is all about. Emotionlessly she sat down on the floor, with her legs crossed Indian style, watching that phone. Then she suddenly stood up like someone told her to do so, and she went into the kitchen where she had her knitting set. And she knitted, and knitted, and knitted... and faster and rougher, until she ran out of wool balls and stung her finger with a needle.

Bringing the sweater to her face, she began to take shaky breaths. It had a man and a woman, each holding one hand of their daughter, and all three of them were smiling. Taking the needles, she began to rip her work apart with them, and when she finished, her breaths were hard and shaken up, which eventually turned to sobs as she broke down while looking at the empty house she was living in. So happy on the outside and so sad and lonely on the inside... she never realized how much the Shack resembled herself and her life. Until now.

 _ ***To The Junkyard***_

Robbie was in his house, playing his guitar and composing a new song. Dipper texted him that from now the young freakish McGucket will live with them and he's going to help around. Now, not that Robbie didn't want to add another soul to their homeless shelter. But it would be pretty cool if at least he would be announced earlier, not when in a few hours they'll have a new mouth at their table! Damn if that stubborn boy ever did what he was asked! And that was only the beginning. As Dipper gets through his teenage years, he would get harder to deal with and more handful.

"Robbie!" Thompson calls out for him "Could come down here for a moment?"

"What is it? I'm kinda busy here!" Robbie shouts back. Truth to be told, he's too lazy.

"And I thought after these years you'd be thrilled to see me again!" Robbie jumped from his bed when he heard that voice, and fell with his face on the floor. Stumbling a lot, he managed to get down without breaking too many things or bones. In the end it was all worth it "Uncle Doug!" he shouted, giving the man a manly hug. Doug coming to Gravity Falls was one of the best things that happened in that day.


	39. Chapter 39

**_A/N: To answer the anonymous question, yes, they will make up. Stan is willing to bring the end of the world for Mabel, so what's a deal with a powerful demon called off, right?_**

 ** _Doug - Portrayed by Doug Savant, I described him as well as I could_**

 ** _Bold - Dipper; Italics - Tate; Song: Bars & Melody - Hopeful; Link: watch?v=wT3RhIJZu4k_**

* * *

Sunday. The day when most citizens of Gravity Falls could be found at the local church, praying for better days, for earning more money, or to find the right person to spend the rest of their lives with. Mabel Pines was there too. Probably for the first time ever since she came to live with her father. All she praid for was to forget the day before, or to find the power to accept that her parents lied to her for so long. And she was also there to give Dipper her support, even if he had let her down when she needed him. The kindness Mabel Pines had in her heart could even question Stan's paternity on her. So... she decided to do what they did. Suck it up and pretend everything is alright, when in reality she is breaking apart. Looking around, she saw Tambry, Lee, Nate and Thompson, but no Robbie, Dipper, or Tate. As soon as her thought was finished, Robbie entered the church.

But he was not alone. A man wearing a hat, dark pants and a green blouse, looking somewhere in his forties, with slight beard, blue eyes, most likely blond hair, and a never ending smile plastered on his face, was with Robbie. Her attention was once again distraught as the music began to play. But from where, she did not know.

 **Oh-oh-oh,**

 **Yeah.**

 _Please help me God, I feel so alone._

 _I'm just a kid, I can't take it on my own._

 _I've cried so many tears,_

 _Yeah, writing this song._

 _Trying to fit in, where do I belong?_

 _I wake up every day, don't wanna leave my home._

 _My mamma's askin' me why I'm always alone._

 _Too scared to say, too scared to holler,_

 _I'm walking to school with sweat around my collar._

 _I'm just a kid, I don't want no stress,_

 _My nerves are bad, my life's a mess._

 _The names you call me, they hurt real bad,_

 _I want to tell my Mom but,_

 _She's havin' trouble with my Dad,_

 _I feel so trapped there's nowhere to turn,_

 _Come to school,_

 _Don't wanna fight I wanna learn,_

 _So please mister Bully._

 _Tell me, what I've done?_

 _You know I have no Dad._

 _I'm livin' with my Mom._

The entire night they spend it more in composing the song and the music than solving any mystery. It was a call out for bullies and those who are being bullied. It was a song that gave you enough hope to live for another day, and it was the kind of song that the church would accept them singing. Neither of them got any sleep, for they were too excited to present the song. So, early in the morning, they snuck inside God's home, in the loft above. And began to prepare.

 **'Cause I'm hopeful, yes I am!**

 **Hopeful for today!**

 **Take this music and use it,**

 **Let it take you away.**

 **And be hopeful, hopeful,**

 **And we'll make a way,**

 **I know it ain't easy, but that's okay.**

 **Just be hopeful!**

They brought with them a small audio system which had been given by Nate with the promise that the song will slay. And when people started to come in, they put on a pair of head phones each. After the service ended and they were presented, Dipper nodded at Tate encouraging him. He connected the wires, and pressed the play button, and music started to echo in the entire building.

 _Why do you trip at the color of my skin?_

 _And whether I'm fat or whether I'm thin_

 _You call me a loser, you call me a fool_

 _I ain't got a choice I gotta go to school_

 _I wish I had an angel to stand by my side_

 _I'm shaking with fear, I'm so scared inside_

 _Doesn't really matter if I ain't got the looks_

 _Why do you always hurt me and destroy my books?_

The song barely got to the second part and people were crazy about it. Many rose to their feet, throwing fists in the air, feeling they could take down the world if they wanted to. They were all hopeful. Especially Mabel. Even if Dipper didn't know he had already helped her. And his mistake for leaving her when she needed him was forgiven. Partially.

 **'Cause I'm hopeful, yes I am!**

 **Hopeful for today!**

 **Take this music and use it,**

 **Let it take you away.**

 **And be hopeful, hopeful,**

 **And we'll make a way,**

 **I know it ain't easy, but that's okay.**

 **Just be hopeful!**

The first moment Doug landed his eyes on Dipper, he knew the boy was special. Gifted. Either if it's something he got from his parents, or by fate, it didn't matter. He was also quick to discover that the young boy was abused, because, children don't fall down the stairs and end up with three old weeks bruises. Then he was worried when all the boy could say was 'I fell on the stairs.' and realized he needs to investigate more. So the rest of that night he spend it in his car waiting for anything at all to happen to get Dipper away from those people. Up to this day he regretted nothing.

 _I give you all my money every single day_

 _I didn't ask to be born but now I have to pay_

 _I ain't got no food, you take all I have_

 _When I give it to you, you search through my bags_

 _I wrote this song for you to see_

 _We could've been friends, yeah you and me_

 _Mister Bully, take a moment please_

 _Every single day you bring me to my knees_

The performance was a complete success. The gang was most happy since they payment was already made. Looks like they will be eating well tonight. All thanks to the fifteen year old brat who was part of their family, and the new addition Tate McGucket.

 **'Cause I'm hopeful, yes I am!**

 **Hopeful for today!**

 **Take this music and use it,**

 **Let it take you away.**

 **And be hopeful, hopeful,**

 **And we'll make a way,**

 **I know it ain't easy, but that's okay.**

 **'Cause I'm hopeful, yes I am!**

 **Hopeful for today!**

 **Take this music and use it,**

 **Let it take you away.**

 **And be hopeful, hopeful,**

 **And we'll make a way,**

 **I know it ain't easy, but that's okay.**

 **Just be hopeful!**

The music stopped playing and everyone began to clap and cheer while standing up. Doug brought two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Up in the loft Tate and Dipper shared a smile and beat a high five. The applause lasted a little more before it swiftly began to fade away, and most people already left to attend their daily choruses. The boys came down and they were greeted by Mabel who gave Dipper a hug, and ruffled Tate's hair, saying that he's finally coming out of his shell. Tate nodded and went ahead to Susan's place for a treat with the gang.

"About last night..."

"Don't worry." She waved her hand in the air "It's all forgiven, but you still owe me big time."

Dipper dropped his head "I was afraid of that."

"Really, little wolf? I thought you told me you're not afraid of anything." The boy's jaw dropped to the ground and his eyes were so wide they could pop out any moment. Mabel turned to see the guy that came with Robbie spoke, and had a huge grin on his face. So that must be Doug. Why? Because he looks like a Doug. The corners of Dipper's mouth began to turn upwards, then he ran straight to that man and jumped into his open arms. The boy's legs wrapping around the other's waist in a childish manner as the man spun them both around a few times.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?!" Dipper shouted overly excited, it's the first time Mabel saw him be so happy. And once he almost caught the Slender Man on camera!

"I wanted to surprise you! By the look on your face I did a good job." Doug laughed "Look at you." He took the boy's face in his hands, analyzing him "Look at how much you've grown since I last saw you, by the way you nailed the performance."

"It's what I do for a living now."

"Liar." Mabel fake coughed "You're." cough "A." cough "Big." cough "Liar." cough. Dipper glared at her in response. "See? That look!" she pointed out at him "That's the reason Santa never visits you. You could use a toy."

Dipper rolled his eyes, as Doug stepped up and shook her hand. "Hi, sorry, but I haven't seen this lad here in a while and I got carried away. I'm Doug. Uh, you probably know my nephew Robbie." then he turned to Dipper "She's cute. Is she your lady?"

"Nope. She's my best friend. I... got my eyes on someone else." He made a pause, watching Pacifica Northwest leaving with her friends. He was surprised at first to see her there, but he quickly got on that she's doing it for good publicity.

"No, but anyone wishes I was their girlfriend." No matter how many times she hears a compliment, she can't help but feel flattered. And then she wants to hear more. "But I like your tastes, and I'd rather keep myself publicly single. The boys stop sending gifts once they know I'm taken."

" I like her thinking and enthusiasm."

"And I like that you like that, sir."

"Please." the grown up man laughed "I'm not _that_ old. Call me just Doug, or better, Super D."

"No one will ever call you that, so stop trying. Super D. It's not working." Dipper cut his ties off, and then all three of them shared a laugh. "Hey, how about we catch up with your friends and talk more on the road. My niece can join us too once I text her the addres. Also your lady friend here can join us, with that pretty face I can get 50% off and with mine another 50% off, which makes it free... for us. You're going to have to pay for your own. "

 ** _*At Night*_**

"Ok!" Robbie cheered "Dipper's off to the market with Tate and Mabel to buy our meat. Tonight we're having a grill!" Thompson was going to the woods and gather some firewood, Nate and Lee were buying the drinks, and Tambry was getting some cocaine so they could get high. But that was the sweet desert. "Uncle Doug, how do you like yours? If I remember correctly, it doesn't matter to you as long as it's straight from the grill. Still, thought you changed your mind, so I had to ask."

"Actually." Doug sighed "This time I'll pass. My doc will kill me himself if he knew I ate meat."

"What now?" Robbie laughed "Since when do you care what your doctor says? Come, a little bite won't send you to the hospital. Right?" pause "...Right?" longer pause "Why are you not saying anything?"

His uncle took a deep breath, and motioned to move over, both sat down. "Look. I came for a reason to Gravity Falls... I don't know how much longer I've got, but please. No, I'm begging you! Don't say anything what I'm about to tell you to Dipper. Please, let me find a good moment to tell him myself."

The teen rocker backed away a little, confused, and a little scared. "Ok...? You're starting to freak me out a little. Is there something going on?"

Doug refused to meet his nephew's eyes, so he looked away. Hesitantly his hand touched the hat, that he had not taken off during the day not even once, and revealed a complete baldness, all his of his once beautiful blond hair completely gone. "I... have been diagnosed with cancer..."


	40. Chapter 40

**_A/N: Danielle (Doug's niece) is mainly inspired by the character from Desperate Housewives, Danielle Van de Kamp._**

* * *

"Hi there... Ian..."

Dipper brought Mabel home and decided that this time he's not leaving her alone. So he spent the night over. After all, the next day, he would be only with Doug, to catch up on their lives. And also to meet his niece Danielle, who lives with him now because her mother divorced her father and got Danielle's full custody, and a year ago her mother had a bad accident that send her into a deep coma, ever since that day, she has been living with her uncle Doug. And as soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.

Mabel didn't.

She went downstairs and she found herself picking up the phone and dialing a number she still has not forgotten. When his voice mail answered instead, she released a relieved sigh. "Umm. I know you never expected to hear from me again. I think I should've started with saying 'sorry'. Sorry! I messed it up... Let's do this again, ok? Hi there... Ian. I'm sorry for calling at this hour and for calling after I let you in the dark about me for so long. What can I say? I guess I'm turning evil." She giggled and she ran her hand through hair and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

Yes, she likes to walk around the shack when she's on the phone. More than one times she has been caught on the roof, and every single time, she had no idea how she got there. But that doesn't mean she stopped the conversations when it happened. That would have been rude of her. Plus, her other best friend from Piedmont, Bonnie, was filling her with juicy details of her relationship and new gossips.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine, I'm spending this summer with my dad actually. I called because... I just wanted to hear your voice... and I miss you. That's all. So... bye for now. Oh, and by the way, it's me. Mabel Pines." It was the first time she ended a conversation and did not end up outside. Which was a good thing, because she could hear a coyote from somewhere in the distance. Before she could forbid herself to do it, her legs were already dragging the rest of her body to the kitchen. She chilled herself with a few glasses of wine from Stan's stock and then she went to sleep like nothing happened.

But as soon as her head hit her pillow, Dipper started to cough in his sleep. It was a muffled sound at first, nothing too much to bother with, and soon it turned louder and more violent. Mabel rose from her bed and went by his side helping him roll over. Dipper was suddenly wide awake, and he pushed Mabel out of the way as he sat on the edge of the bed, and coughed louder and louder, for a second even believing he was going to suffocate and die. He felt his chest tightening in pain, and something coming up, then he was no longer coughing normally (not that this kind was normal in any way), but he was coughing blood.

"Dipper." Mabel touched his shoulder worriedly, sitting on the floor on her knees, and Dipper took her hand and gave it a weak squeeze as the coughing fit had come to an end. He took long and deep breaths with wide eyes and his mouth wide open, Mabel quickly went to the bathroom and brought him a glass of water to drink. He emptied it, drops of sweats visible on his forehead, and then his head fell numb. "Dipper?" his eyes were closed, but he was still breathing. Then his eyes were open again, and he roughly grabbed Mabel by her shoulders with both hands.

His eyes were glowing yellow, just like in her nightmare, and despite the blood around his mouth, or on his teeth, Dipper was smiling widely. "When gravity falls, and earth becomes sky. Fear the me with the golden eyes!" And then he was out cold in her arms.

 ** _*Next Day*_**

That day was a tough one for Doug. It was the day he told Dipper about his cancer. Just as expected, the boy didn't take the news too well. "What did you say?" at first, the teenager thought he didn't hear it. Doug repeated himself. And Dipper wished that he hadn't. "F-For how long?" he swallowed a ball of his nerves, and felt like the room was spinning with him and only him.

"My doc noticed it somewhere between the end of winder and beginning of spring, so far it's not too serious and I've been going on a lot of sessions." Doug tried to touch him, but Dipper roughly jerked away. He tried to speak, but he could only get out a few letters before the words would flow back in his mouth. He was stuttering worse than someone who was cursed with it by nature. And every time he tries again, he just goes back to being silent. He looks at Doug, then he slams his hands against the table and gets up to leave. Despite Doug calling out his name, Dipper runs from the restaurant.

On his way out, he bumps into a girl. Whatever she was holding, it drops to the ground. Muttering a small apology, Dipper helps her gather them back, and their eyes met. She was very very pretty. With long and curly dark brown hair, slim body, baby blue eyes, thin lips and he noticed even a small mole close to her eye brow. Then he muttered another apology and rushed out.

"Hey uncle Doug."

"Hi honey, I see you've met Dipper already."

Danielle gaped and pointed behind her back " _That_ was the young boy you were telling me about?"

"He grew up."

"He's so hot!" she exclaims, and only for a moment, by a complete coincidence she was there with her friends at the moment, Pacifica Northwest turned around and looked at Danielle. "Anyway, here." she set the pile of books on the table "You and I have a lot of reading to do, if you want to pull this through, then stop pushing people away."

 ** _*A Little Later*_**

"We need to talk."

"There is nothing to talk about."

Dipper went back to the junkyard, and to take his anger out, he began working on a car he plans to own forever. He expected Doug to come by and try to explain himself, but he was in no mood to deal with it now.

"Yes, there is."

"Talk about what?" Dipper snapped, trying to busy himself with cleaning his tools "The weather? How much you have left before you die? The news? Or maybe the reason why you came all this way to Gravity Falls? To tell me this? You want to torture me? Congratulations you did. After you leave the town, every time I would think about you, I'll ask myself if you're still alive or not, and eventually I'll convince myself that you're dead."

Doug took a step forward, and the boy took a step back. Pointing the wrench he was using before Doug came, at the man, he told Robbie's uncle to stay away from him... and listen to this. "Did I ever tell you about Penny?" the cop shook his head "Penny was the biological daughter of my first adoptive family... And she had cancer too. Ten months after I met her, she was dead."

"Wow. Thanks for that encouraging story."

Dipper looked down and tried not to laugh. He failed. "I haven't finished." he took a seat down on the ground Indian style, he sighed and he had such a far away look on his face, Doug thought he was not going to speak again. But he did sit next to the Pine Tree. "Penny was great. She was always staying positive, and she taught us how to cook, and she took care of us, and when we were sick, she stood by our side. Those last weeks, every day, the parents thought they were going to lose her. And every day before me, or Lucy, or Parker, would go to see her, they would say ' _Smile. If she sees you smiling at her, then she will smile back. Cry in front of her and you will pay dearly.'_ So... in the last night, I sat there, and I watched her die." He paused to search for his words "Her eyes were closed, but I thought she could still see me... so I kept smiling." and he did smile now, a sad one. "All night long..." a very sad one

"Oh my God." Doug muttered, soothingly moving his hand up and down on the boy's arm.

Dipper looked at him with tears in his eyes "But I can't pretend with you." his voice cracked with his pain, and his body shook with every sob "I don't want to lose you." he admitted shaking his head, the tears cascading down on his face "I don't want to wake up every day for the rest of my life and wonder if you're still alive or not. That's not living, that's torture. I was almost raped by a pedophile as a child and I still moved on! But if you die... I'll never be able to move on."

"Dipper, here's why I came to Gravity Falls." Doug took the sobbing boy in his arms, and he felt like they were two children who seek and found comfort in each other. If Doug dies, Dipper will never be able to move on, but if Dipper dies, then neither will Doug. "One of the best docs in this country came here with his brother to visit their old home, and help around the hospital. And I will take the operation and put my life only on that doctor's hands. On only one condition..."

"What?" Dipper pulled away shocked

"If I'm not gonna die, then neither will you. Robbie told me that your lungs have not gotten any better. Lee told me you wake up in the middle of the night and gasp for air like you're about to suffocate. Nate told me how badly you cough, like you're about lose your soul... and I know from Tambry that the blood from your birth problem is not a sign that you're getting better. So here's the deal... I will take that operation, which will probably save my life, _only_ if you agree to operate your lungs in the same day as me."

Take it or leave it.


	41. Chapter 41

**_A/N: Song: Pixie Lott - Cry me out. Link: watch?v=qsKnKB4nbls_**

 ** _Apologies for the delay, but my grandmother passed away four days ago._**

* * *

Dipper went to visit Mabel. She was the only one he felt he could talk to. Currently, they were both on top of the Mystery Shack's roof and neither of them were doing exactly great. Dipper blew the smoke in slow motion, and then he took a look at the cigarette in his hand.

"Do you know why I started to smoke?"

"I am more curious of 'when' instead of why." Mabel replied, leaning backwards on her hands. As clumsy as she is, one wrong move, and she falls off the roof. Now, that would be a title for the papers _Gymnast can't use her moves to save herself from falling in the head._

"I started when I was thirteen." He told her, taking another drag. "That was in the day I found out about my lungs." He paused to blow the smoke making rings. "And back then I had absolutely no one to care about me. It's not like I have them now, but-" Mabel cut him off by punching his shoulder pretty hard.

"I am not no one." She said with a small smile. He smiled back and turned to look at the sunset.

"I was getting there. I was going to say 'I don't have them now, but I am getting there with you.' And Doug." Taking the last drag, after blowing away the smoke, he threw the stump. "I can't believe he's doing this to me. Besides him, I have no one who cares about me so much... and I don't know what to do. Because I don't want to lose him, and I don't want to take the operation."

"Why not?" Mabel asks, leaning her head on his shoulder, the two wrapping each other in a hug. "You will get healthy if you do."

"Yes, love. But..." He took a deep breath and exhaled it, looking for his words. "I don't want to get cured... My whole life is a mess. My own mother never wanted me as her son. My father is practically nonexistent, no one knows who he is or where he is. I've been abused by a family who was supposed to love me, and almost raped by a pedophile. I lived on the streets. Now I am living in a Junkyard. Stealing is what I do for a living... I am so sick and tired of waiting for things to get better. I'm so tired to keep fighting when I already know it gets nothing but worse..."

"You can't give up now." Mabel cried tightening their hug. "Dipper, you're only 15! And now you have Robbie, and the guys, and me, and Tate, and Doug and even my dad. He really seems to like you, so I doubt he'd let you down if you needed his help."

"But for how long do I have you? How long before you all go away and leave me alone again?"

"..." she didn't know what to answer to that.

"Mabel... I'll take the deal. I'll have the operation done. But I swear if it goes wrong, then I won't do anything about it. I'm just too tired of fighting to care if I live or not anymore."

"Kids! Where are you?" Stan shouted from inside the Shack "Dang, I hope they didn't ditch me. That would be terrible since I wanted to ditch them at the Ballroom Dance Day."

Dipper and Mabel rolled eyes before they went back inside.

"Oh, there you are!" Stan shouted excitedly "Who wants to get some ice cream? I do. Let's go get some." They got inside El Diablo non too happily. "Oh no." Stan groaned dramatically "I forgot that today is Ballroom Dance Day." But Dipper and Mabel were already out of the car "Well, I'll see you later!" He hit the speed pedal and drove away laughing evilly.

"Ballroom Dance Day?" Mabel repeated "What the heck is that?"

"Oh, Robbie told me about this." Dipper replied "It's a celebration of all the fancy lords and ladies in Gravity Falls between 18 and 19 centuries. They're really popular, lots of dancing couples sign up to perform a folk dance. And if they win they get to be the Lord and Lady of Gravity Falls, which gives them complete freedom to do whatever they want to for a day."

"Oh my God! That is so awesome! I have to sign up!" Mabel screamed cheerfully jumping up and down around Dipper, who wasn't used yet to the level of her voice. "But what am I going to do?"

"I hope this a joke." Pacifica laughed. Dipper and Mabel turned to see her with her parents. " _You_ will compete against _me_?" she pointed her fan at Mabel "You are a little silly girl, peasant would be the closest word to describe you, who has absolute no interesting talent. Only stupid ones or disgusting. This is a place for high ranked people and whoever let you in must be fired immediately."

"Hey!" Dipper intervened "She has more talent in her little finger than your entire family. I suggest you watch your words, because I am not one who does well when he's angry."

"Try to stop me boy who lives in a dump." The blonde said smugly "And I suggest _you_ to take a shower, you smell worse than my own garbage." Her mother and father laughed along with her as they left with their heads up. Mabel held hers down and walked away in the opposite direction. Dipper saw that and he ran after her.

"Mabel! Stop! I can't believe that you believe Pacifica!"

"But she's right Dips!" The girl cried "I am silly, and not as smart as to win an award too soon, I dress weirdly, I am not rich, well I could be if I married Ian, and I act too childishly for my age! Damn it, I wonder why mom and dad are fighting over to keep me instead of trying to convince the other keep me."

With that she turned away and disappeared in the mass of people. Dipper remained behind and made a call. "Hey, Robbie! I need your help with something."

* * *

"Little suckers." Stan chuckled for himself "Now I don't have to deal with this stupid day anymore. They do." though his humor disappeared when his car got stuck in the mud. "Oh boy." he muttered when he saw Sherif Blubs and Deputy Durland.

"Sir. We have to ask you to climb out of this magical not yet invented thing you are in."

"What?" Stan shouted "It's a car for Pete's sake. Are you blind? Do you need a new pair of glasses?"

"We never heard of that." Deputy Durland rang the bell he was holding "I have a bell! Hoo!"

"Yeah sure." the conman laughs crossing his arms to his chest "Well, I don't want to get out. What'cha gonna do about it? Put me in handcuffs?"

* * *

A little later, Mabel was chilling herself with a glass of wine when she spotted her new friends "Candy! Grenda!" she waved at them "Over here!"

"We were just looking for you." Candy says

"Yeah!" Grenda shouts "And we need to put this on, no hidden thought behind, and come to us to the ballroom for no reason." If any other occasion, then yes, Mabel would've said no because she knew something was going on. But when she saw the pretty dress Grenda was holding, she let it pass for the moment. After they found a cabin (Grenda threw someone out of it) the girls gasped loudly when she put the dress on. She wore a red sleeved dress, long black stockings and black high heels, with her hair taped and let down and a white flowered band in her hair.

Inside the ballroom, the soft music was playing and lots of couples were dancing. Pacifica was dancing with a guy, who most likely was hired by her parents to win the competition.

"Girls, I appreciate this, really. But I just can't-"

"Mabel Olivia Pines, freeze."

Mabel was with her jaw dropped. "Dipper?" he was also there, wearing black pants, the type of pants someone would wear for a snubby event, a white shirt, a black bow tie and a long black coat. He was looking amazing. "What are you doing here? And dressed like that?"

"Because." he took her hand and kissed it "If you can't see that you're so much better than Pacifica, then I need to show it to you."

 ** _I got your emails_**  
 ** _You just don't get females_**  
 ** _Now, do you?_**  
 ** _What's in the heart_**  
 ** _Is not on your head_**  
 ** _Anywhere_**

 ** _Mate, you're too late_**  
 ** _And your weren't worth the wait_**  
 ** _Now, were you?_**  
 ** _It's out of my hands_**  
 ** _Since you blew your last chance_**  
 ** _When you played me_**

As Dipper dragged her to the dance floor with the other couples, and with the familiar beat, Mabel began to sing the song slowly and shyly. But the more she danced with him the more confidence she got and she began to sing louder.

 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _The tears that I'll fall_**  
 ** _Mean nothing at all_**  
 ** _It's time to get over yourself_**

 ** _Baby, you ain't all that_**  
 ** _Maybe, there's no way back_**  
 ** _You can keep talking_**  
 ** _But, baby, I'm walking away_**

"Dipper? How? What? Why? I'm speechless."

"Good." he said spinning her around "Because we put a lot of effort to this. We as in me and the gang. We took a bath in the river, Thompson brought me the clothes, Tambry, Candy and Grenda broke into Pacifica's trailer and stole the dress that you are wearing right now. Robbie went to denounce your dad for using a non invented device in case you wanted to leave with him after you'd find out his car got stuck in the mud. And even if we don't win, at least let's have fun."

 ** _When I found out_**  
 ** _How you messed me about_**  
 ** _I was broken_**  
 ** _Back then I believed you_**  
 ** _Now, I don't need you_**  
 ** _No more_**

 ** _The pic on your phone_**  
 ** _Proves you weren't alone_**  
 ** _She was with you, yeah_**  
 ** _Now, I couldn't care_**  
 ** _About who, what or where_**  
 ** _We're through_**

The judges were passing by and touching on the shoulder the dancing couples who were being disqualified. Mabel doubted that it will happen to them too since Dipper's a great dancer, and he's guiding her into the waltz so perfectly. The thing is, she didn't care about beating Pacifica anymore. Her friends and family didn't love her for her money, but for who she is and her goofy personality. It took a while, but she finally realized it. And she was happy.

 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _The tears that I'll fall_**  
 ** _Mean nothing at all_**  
 ** _It's time to get over yourself_**

 ** _Baby, you ain't all that_**  
 ** _Maybe, there's no way back_**  
 ** _You can keep talking_**  
 ** _But, baby, I'm walking away_**

"Mister Pines, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, hey there. I came here to uhh, watch my daughter. Yeah, to watch my daughter! Wait, why is she dancing with that guy?"

Soos chuckled "And I thought the police made you come here after they arrested you and put you in handcuffs when your attempt at escaping the day was unsuccessful because your car got stuck in the mud."

"..."

"..."

"No one likes a wiseass Soos."

 ** _Gonna have to cry me out_**  
 ** _Gonna have to cry me out_**  
 ** _Boy, there ain't no doubt_**  
 ** _Gonna have to cry me out_**

 ** _Won't hurt a little bit_**  
 ** _Boy, better get used to it_**  
 ** _You can keep talking_**  
 ** _But, baby, I'm walking away_**

Most dancing couples were already out and between the few that remained, Dipper and Mabel were counted in along with Pacifica and her trainer. The blonde was very shocked when she felt a hand touching her shoulder, and turned to see the judges shaking their heads at her.

 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _The tears that I'll fall_**  
 ** _Mean nothing at all_**  
 ** _It's time to get over yourself_**

 ** _Baby, you ain't all that_**  
 ** _Maybe, there's no way back_**  
 ** _You can keep talking_**  
 ** _But, baby, I'm walking away_**

 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**  
 ** _You'll have to cry me out_**

"You have an amazing voice Mabes."

"Thanks Dips... for everything." she rested her head on his shoulder just as a light shined above them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these two are the lucky winners who get to be Lord and Lady of Gravity Falls for one day!"

Dipper grinned at her. "So. What is it that you want to do, my lady?"

Mabel grinned back. "Well, I don't know about you, my lord. But I... AM GOING TO BREAK ALL THE RULES AND LAWS IN THIS TOWN!"

Stan's shout of prideness was heard by everyone. "THAT'S MY GIRL!"


	42. Chapter 42

Kyle Hershey was a renamed doctor in the medical world. Born with his brother in Gravity Falls, both had weird passions, but they where sustained by their parents all the way. He had always cared for their sick grandmother, and every other family members who needed that, and he found he liked helping people and making them feel good. When his grandmother died of old age, Kyle blamed himself for not being good enough, so he tried to get better and better, always to outstand himself and push past his limits. That's how he became a prestigious doctor, head of the hospital.

His brother on the other hand was absorbed by solving mysteries. He studied paranormal stuff before he went to school. He wanted to know why where these stuff existing in the first place and how to get rid of them. Cole was hot headed and more impulsive than his older brother. And when he was hurting himself in his adventures, Kyle would take care of him and his wounds. They were the perfect team. Years passed by and each of them made a career out of their dreams, but they lost contact over the time. Cole became a professional psychiatrists, specialized in the treatment of mental, emotional, or behavioral problems.

One day, Kyle got a call. It was his brother's partner who gave him the terrible news that Cole had lost his mind. He was called for a mission about a man who had also lost his mind and went crazy for no reason at all. Kyle dropped the phone as his mind made the connections. A few weeks ago, he consulted a baby who had a lung sickness. Something he had never seen or heard of before, he marked the baby's paper and casted him as incurable then he went to another town for an emergency surgery. Cole came to Gravity Falls for that special mission just as Kyle left. The baby's father was connected with the man, named McGucket, who lost his mind. Then a few days later Kyle gets the news his brother lost his mind too, and he returned to Gravity Falls immediately. McGucket didn't know anything about the man and the baby, and neither did his brother. And both disappeared from Earth apparently, because neither the man or the baby were seen again.

More years went by, fifteen to be more exact, and Cole never returned to the man he was once before. Kyle tried every possible and human way to cure him, but nothing worked. Kyle digged himself in his work, and very late he realized he needs a vacation. Leaving Cole home, with his most trusted people to look after him, Kyle went back to Gravity Falls.

"Doctor." Nurse Annie "Two people request your presence for a surgery." Even though he was in a vacation, Kyle could never stay away from work. It was a well known thing about him. "An adult for kidney cancer surgery, and a minor for lung surgery. The adult insists for them to be operated in the same operation theatre and time."

"Are they related?"

"No. But they seem to genuinely care for each other, also the adult's nephew insists to assist the operation."

Kyle sighed. He and his brother used to be so close, and even though over a decade had passed, he could never look at his brother the same or have the same relationship. And he could say, with a light heart, that he was envious of others who were so close and so healthy.

"Alright then." Kyle told the nurse cheerfully "Book them in."

* * *

The next day a carnival came to Gravity Falls. Mabel was going with her friends, Candy and Grenda. Stan was planning to make a fortune with one of his tricks, by making the dunk tank rigged all the way from here to Timbuktu. And Dipper was surprisingly nowhere to be found. Walking around, Mabel saw Tate and Wendy playing darts, Robbie winning something she was not sure what it was, but it looked a pink bear and a blue panda had a baby with a purple duck.

Then Mabel let out a loud and long, very long, gasp, her eyes growing twice their size and her smile the same. She ran faster than lightning, passing through the mass of people like it was nothing and leaving her girl friends behind. _Keep in mind to apologize later._

"If'n you can guess the critter's weight, you can take the critter home!" the farmer kept shouting

"Sir, I must have that pig!" Mabel yelled pointing at the one she saw on the paper

"Ah, old 15-Poundy! So, how much you guessin' he weights?"

"I was going to say Switzerland, but I'll go with 15 pounds!"

* * *

"What the heck are you doing here?" Pacifica shouted "If someone sees me with you, my reputation is dead!"

Dipper gave her a bored look. "Don't you ever get tired acting like a bitch?"

"Excuse me?!" she looked close to slapping or hitting him. Or both.

He looked down and chuckled before walking up to her. Unexpectedly he got close to her, taking the girl completely by surprise, their faces were extremely close, their noses were touching, just a little bit closer and they would be... "I know that... you are a spoiled little fake blonde who never has to work for a day in her life because mommy and daddy's money will keep you safe.. but I think I saw something else in you... I don't think you want to be like them. And I am drawn to you. And I've seen that you are to me."

"Y-you don't know what you are talking about..." she says, growing red during their closes, trying to step back.

"Alright then." Dipper says moving away from Pacifica. "If you want it to be like that then fine, but just so you know... if we're both attracted to each other and the feelings are real... then we could try to make this work." And he walked away.

* * *

"Hey Mabes! Whaaaaaaaaat the heck is that?"

"IT'S A PIG!" Mabel yells in delight hugging the mass of bacon to her chest "AND I'VE NAMED HIM WADDLES!"

Dipper's mouth was already watering thinking about all the meals he could prepare with that pig.

"Hey guys, uhh! A pig! We eat fine tonight! I'm in!" Doug rubbed his palms together, and licked his lips, carefully analyzing the pig and how much food he can get from Waddles. Fuck the cancer. Eat the pig. Regret later.

"I love this guy." Dipper chuckled pointing at Doug

Mabel gasped dramatically and turned Waddles away from the two cannibals. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" she told them on a disappointed tone. "Now, if you excuse me, I'll give you some time to think about your actions! GOODBYE!"

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted after her "Don't forget I'm the one who has to take you home!"

"I SAID GOODBYE!"

Doug turned to Dipper "... It's our fault that the pig is potentially delicious?"

* * *

Now, Mabel was looking the girls, Candy and Grenda, to apologize for leaving them and explain why. Or to show them, it would go faster that way. Maybe grab a drink on the way... boy... Ever heard of the phrase 'got a monkey on your back'? It's so precisely accurate right now it's kinda scary. Even though she is no addict to drugs or alcohol, not even blind or half blind, nothing could've prepared her enough for this moment. Her heart stopped beating and she froze while people kept moving around her.

"Hello... Mabel." the stupid smirk on that face, the prideness of having her with her jaw dropped, intentionally putting a pause between 'hello' and her name to make it more dramatic. It was all worth it.

"I-Ian...?"

She had no idea she spoke the name until it actually reached her ears, and she didn't know she was crushing Waddles to her chest until the pig was struggling and screaming in pain.

* * *

Doug and Dipper wanted to try the Ferris Wheel so they could make fun of anyone they see down, or throw rests of their food and see if it lands on someone. They stood in the line for what seemed to be an hour, when in reality it was less than 10 minutes, and then Doug's phone began to ring.

"Sorry, little wolf, it's important, it's from work." and he walked away to answer. Dipper was worried for him, Doug loved his job so much, he never told anyone from the police station that he has cancer. And what if he passes out at some point? What if one of his missions goes bad and because of his cancer he might die? For how long is he going to keep this up? Dipper was not surprised when he found himself with tears in his eyes just by thinking of Doug as dead.

So when he got inside the cabin, he expected anyone, but Pacifica Northwest.

"I thought you left." he told her as the cabin began to go up in the air, so slowly, like they were in a romantic movie during the 80s.

"I wanted to." she replied sitting with her arms and legs crossed, looking anywhere but in his direction. "I've been thinking about what you said..." she muttered under breath, which went unheard by Dipper, because the wheel suddenly stopped spinning. They ended up at the highest point because of a technical defection.

"Looks like we'll be here for a while. Sorry, did you say something?"

"No... nothing. Forget it, urgh, make this stupid thing move already!"

"Pacifica..." he reached out to touch her, but she slapped his hand and sharply turned away. "Hey, I said I'm sorry. Come on, princess, tell me what's wrong?"

"It's you!" she shouted, this time her being the one who took him by surprise, finally looking at him. "When I'm alone, I think of so many things to say to you. But whenever I see you, I go speechless! Not many people can take my breath away, but you don't even have to try! I'm addicted to the way I feel when I'm thinking about you!" she pointed her finger at his chest "I admit you are on my mind, more than sometimes! Do you even realize how amazing you are to me? I mean, you're super hot, you're free, you know how to take care of yourself, you're a nerd, but a lovely one, you know how to treat a girl and I couldn't believe myself when I found I have a huge crush on a homeless guy and I don't even care about that!"

After this sudden break out, Pacifica was taking deep breaths. Pouring your feelings out takes some energy. Dipper just smiled at her through the whole rant "You know... The best love story is when you fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time!" is what he told her after she began to calm down "Every time I see you, I'm more convinced that we belong together, I turned out liking you a lot more than I planned!" he leaned back in the chair and looked up as if he could see the sky through the roof "I want us to last!" he tells her turning his head slightly

Pacifica leans back too, and slightly turns her head to look at him. Her hand slowly touches his, and links their fingers together "So... what do we do now?"

He cups her face with his free hand, his thumb stroking her cheek. "For now, we'll try to make this work and see where it's taking us... if you want."

"I do..."

Dipper smiles at her. "Good... because so do I." he brings her face closer to his and their lips lock in their very first kiss. They depend the kiss, her arms going around his neck, and pressing their lips harder against each other just as the wheel begins to move. They chuckle, but they don't stop kissing until they reach the ground finally.

Wendy's cone of ice cream drops at the sight of them together and holding hands.

* * *

 ** _ZKHQ RQH FRPHV EDFN IURP WKH SDVW_**

 ** _EH VXUH KH ZLOO KDYH KLV UHYHQJH IDVW_**


	43. Chapter 43

**_A/N: Please do ignore the ships if you dislike them. I know how hard it is when you find a good story, but you don't like the ship. I'm sorry because I know I won't change my mind about them and clearly I won't try to make you change your ships. Just skip the parts and keep reading the story if you like that... it's hard to please everyone._**

* * *

Three weeks later, Mabel thought she was going to lose her mind while Dipper had the time of his life. Pacifica indeed has been something he never expected to change his life in that way. He grew feelings for her he never thought he would or even posses. The surgery went well for both him and Doug. Doug had to leave for a special mission across the country while his niece Danielle agreed to stay with Dipper and the gang. Even Doug said she was safer with him.

"I think we should stop doing this." He said when he woke up in one morning. He was still naked under the sheets and Danielle was already getting dressed.

"Why?" She turns to him, wearing only her shirt and underwear. "We are having so much fun right now."

First night after Doug left, Dipper, Danielle, and the gang went out in a club to dance and drink. Dipper had no idea when he took Danielle in the back to make out with her, and Danielle could not remember when they started tearing each other's clothes. When they finished and came back trying to act as normal as possible they saw the guys drunk off their feet, Nate already passed out in a chair. And since then they became a thing... And not even Tate McGucket noticed anything about them.

Sleeping together didn't constitute a problem for Dipper at first, but now that he was falling for Pacifica it was getting harder for him to continue. "Because I'm really developing strong feelings for Pacifica."

Danielle gave him the same smile she always did when she thought he was acting foolishly. She walked up to him and climbed on the bed straddling him with her legs. She kissed him soundly and his hand began to stroke her thighs. "Then it's better if we keep it a secret. What Pacifica doesn't know, it doesn't hurt her." She climbed off the bed and put on a pair of jeans "Besides, you said it yourself you are not in love with her and the main reason of the relationship was to pay her back for everything she had done to you, and the others, and the way she treated you."

"I know." Dipper sighed covering his eyes with his forearm "I wanted to take her virginity and be done with it. Turns out she's not such a bad person when you get to know her. Just heavily manipulated by her parents and family."

"Honey." Danielle giggled "Don't forget you were a wolf in a sheep's disguise once too."

And Dipper smiled at her. Because he finally remembered why he was so much into her in the first place.

* * *

On the other hand, Mabel was not doing so well. Ever since Ian came back, her life was turned upside down. She tried to stay more with Candy and Grenda to ignore him and his presence. When they finally agreed to talk she told him she doesn't want to try again... She said she wants to live a little more of her life until she will commit herself to a man and have a relationship. She told him she wants him to move on. She's only 15 and he's 26. The next day she saw a girl at his arm and it hurt so much she ran away from her friends deep into the forest to cry. Then she went to visit Aoshima, but Aoshima was nowhere to be seen. Probably it was out hunting. Because one day, when Mabel came to visit, she found Aoshima with three eggs. Whatever the pterodactyl laid them or not... Mabel really didn't want to know. On the other side, she was going to become an aunt!

Returning home, hoping for some peace and quiet to knit a matching sweater for her and Waddles she found instead her dad packing hurriedly. Nervous sweat drops were falling on his face, the look of fear so oblivious and rare on him. When he heard her entering the house, it was as if the world stopped.

"Mabel, honey, I-"

"No." she cut him off immediately "Don't... I get it. You need to go..."

"I swear it was a setup!" he said to her, his tone pleading for her to believe him. After so many lies, it was hard for her to do so... "Once I get everything fixed and prove that I'm innocent I'll come back to you."

"Where will you go?" she just wanted to know if he will be safe

"I have a buddy, his name is Enrique. I'll stay at his place for a while. I don't want the cops to bother you or your mom. Are you sure you're gonna be alright on your own?"

"Yes... I'll be fine." in less than ten minutes, Stan Pines, already drove away from the Mystery Shack. She sat down in silence, and for hours unmoved, where the stairs began, staring at nothing. She heard a knock on the door, assuming it's Dipper, Candy, or Grenda, she told them to go away because she's not home while burying her head in her arms, bringing her knees to her chest. Instead, the person tried the door, saw it's opened, and entered the Shack. Footsteps were getting close to her, and the person sat down next to her.

"How did you know where I am and where I live?" Mabel asks leaning into Ian's embrace.

"Well. Once I checked your profile on Instagram and saw a picture of you which tagged a guy named Dipper, and Mystery Shack. Clicking on the Mystery Shack I saw it's in Gravity Falls, Oregon, and I said it doesn't hurt to try this place if it means getting to see you again." he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. "I hope you're not dating this guy."

"No... he's my best friend. What if my dad was home, you idiot?!" she punched him in the chest "You would be dead and buried in a place where no one can find you."

"Oh, yes I would be. But once I saw your dad's car heading out of town, I thought it's safe to come and visit. We obviously need to talk."

"Okay..." Mabel muttered "But not now. Just... hold me... and don't leave me alone here."

"I wasn't intending to."

* * *

"Hey babe." Dipper greeted Pacifica after the butler let him in. "I brought the movie you asked for, though I hope you remember I never promised I won't get bored." he opened his arms "Now come here and give me a hug. I've been waiting for it ever since I rented this movie."

Pacifica hesitated a little, with a small teasing smile, before she gave in and walked into his open arms. How one simple person, a homeless guy no less and broke, could make her a better person and fall in love with him so fast, she could never be able to tell. Then she took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly, he bit her lip gently, and she opened her mouth allowing his tongue to slip in. Pulling away, without sparing a single glass at the flushed and ignored butler, Pacifica led the way to the living room where they began to watch The Fault In Our Stars.

Twenty minutes later, both Dipper and Pacifica were into it, while the butler kept bringing them snacks. Pacifica was laying on Dipper's chest, while his arm went around her shoulder, keeping her close to him.

"Hey, Paz?" he said when the movie came to an end

"What?"

He smiled at her. And as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't. He was falling for a snob, rich girl, thing he vowed to never do. And here he is now... He gave her a long peck on the lips "Just wanted to tell that, I'm really starting to fall for you."

This is why he needs to break up with Danielle... but then, there's Candy... another big problem.

* * *

While Mabel and Ian kept being together most of the time, without knowing it, or doing it on purpose, she began to ignore her friends. The sleepovers with Candy and Grenda were... over. The time she and Dipper spent together was short because both had to go to their lovers. Stan never called her, though he left her once a message, one which she deleted without even listening to it, and the most important thing that happened to her in these three weeks was that Ian made her see something she hadn't, something she refused to see.

So, he forced her to go to AA meetings. Because the amounts of alcohol she was drinking at her age were far from normal. Even for a teenager, and especially for someone like her. She kept denying that she has problem, but Ian won't buy it so easily. One good thing that came out from these meetings was that she met a nice person named Gideon Gleeful. Apparently his family owns the Tent of Telephaty. A tourist attraction she never heard of. Or another thing she failed to see was that Gideon was not coming out from AA meetings, but from Anger Management classes. Not to mention that he developed a some sort of obsession towards her.

At the moment, she and Ian returned to the Mystery Shack from another AA meeting. She poured herself a glass of water, as he kissed her head and bid her goodbye. After he left, she threw the water in the sink and poured a glass of wine, just as Candy and Grenda came by.

"Girls, I'm so sorry for ignoring you this whole time." she cried when she saw them, realising only now how much she missed them both.

"It's alright." Grenda replied raising her hand "For a hottie like that Ian of yours I'd pretend I don't even know you!"

"Plus, I have wonderful news to share!" Candy squealed out, already blushing.

"But girls, you simply must come in and give me all the details!"

"I had my first time!"

Mabel gasped along with Grenda, the two girls looked at each other and yelled in excitement while Candy blushed even more. "WHO? WHO? WHO?" the chanted while yelling and stomping their foots on the floor.

"With Dipper!"

The glass of wine dropped on the floor breaking in a hundred pieces.

"WITH WHO?!"

* * *

Kyle had been the one who operated Doug and Dipper. And Kyle had been the one who made the terrible discovery. The birthmark on the teenager's forehead... exactly like the baby from fifteen years ago. The baby that has been taken in a Child's Centre because his father was the main suspect for Fiddleford McGucket's sudden madness. Kyle ran his fingers through his hair, this being the third day that he had not slept... the man who destroyed his brother's mind was never found. And recently Kyle operated his son. His son was in Gravity Falls, but Kyle doubted that his father was also in town... or that they knew each other.

Opening a drawer, with his mind settled, Kyle took out a gun. That man ruined his brother, and disappeared, now his son was in town, probably completely unaware of what will happen to him. It was only fair for Kyle to want revenge... just as the old saying says...

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.


	44. Chapter 44

"Dipper, you fucking idiot come out. Now!"

Hearing Mabel's voice and the anger in her voice made him jump up from the bed. Fear and worry crossed his face and he knew instantly why she was so upset with him. "Stay here. I'll handle this!" He told Danielle getting dressed hurriedly. Dipper climbed down half of the stairs and then he jumped down the rest. He was used to do that, nearly broke his legs the first time though. Taking one look at Mabel it was more than enough to make him run to a car and duck.

"You!" She growled at him picking up the first thing that she saw and threw it at him. "Why did you do it?!"

"I was half drunk!" Dipper shouted backing away as she kept approaching him. "And she caught me doing something you really wouldn't like. And the idea popped up in my head and she agreed to it as soon as I told her!" He was not sure how she would react if he told her he slept with Candy because she saw him making out with Danielle at the bar. On the good side, she was a virgin (he found that he is very interested in them), and she never bothered him again since that day.

"Candy is my friend! What the hell was going on in your head? How could you?" Mabel has been this angry only a very few times in her life. But she never let it out. This is the first time she does it and she can't control herself anymore. She wants to hit him so bad...

His face turned into a frown, from scared he became angry "Who are you? Her mother? Seriously, now. She willingly did this." He never forced her to do anything she doesn't want to.

"Because I have no problems with you and your low life style as long as you don't involve me or my friends for the matter!" Mabel yelled in his face, and he took another step back "Yes, it brothers me, you have no idea how much it bothers me! I don't know what Candy sees in you, honestly, I don't know why you seem so hot to all the girls in this town and to me not. I tried to keep her from making a mistake because I know what it is like to fall so hard for someone, and here you are living your life and not giving a damn about what you did." She turned with a sigh and she spoke calmly, which made Dipper want her to yell at him instead. "You took away from Candy the only thing that she will never get back and when she's going to regret what she did, you will still not give a fuck about her or her feelings."

"I cheated on Pacifica." Dipper blurted out and regretted his words as soon as they came out. Shock crossed on her face as her mind processed the information, her hand went to her mouth and she tried to speak, but no coherent words could be spoken now. For a moment they stood in silence and neither of the two noticed the gang surrounded them to see what they were fighting about. The disappointment on Tate's face was heartbreaking. "Mabel, please. Just hear me out." He clapped his palms together as if he was praying, which he considered amusing because he has never prayed in his life. Not even once. "You know I don't want to hurt you. But I wanted to hurt Pacifica... you don't know how horrible she used to be... From insults and making videos when she was embarrassing people and posting them online to throwing coins on the streets whenever she saw us... I wanted to hurt her. But after we got together... I started to fall for her... I saw another Pacifica. Only that the cheating was done... And Candy saw me making out with the other girl..."

Mabel looked at him in a frozen silence and then she laughed mockingly. "And this other girl let you sleep with Candy? And she knew you were dating Pacifica?... Who is this tramp?" Dipper opened his mouth to argue, but she cut off "If she lets you sleep with other girls beside her than she is nothing more than a tramp! And you know that!"

"Mabel...I... I'm sorry." He was honest about it. He didn't know why... but he was honest about it. He was really sorry. For cheating. For lying. For the betrayal. For everything. "I know I made a mistake. And I want to fix it."

"It's too late for that." She whispered. "I... stood by your side when your mother died. I let it pass as grief when you cursed her. I watch you and the others stealing every day telling myself you do this for a living, and I did not go to the police when any other person beside me would have done that in a breath." If there were tears in her eyes she didn't even notice them. "I let you in my life thinking that I can make a change for you. Dipper, you have a pretty fucked up life and I tried to help you... But the more I try the more stupid the things you do get. And I'm tired... When the summer ends I will go back to my mom in Piedmond. Until then, don't talk to me. Don't text me. Don't call me. Don't even come to see me at the Mystery Shack! So keep enjoying your life style... I'm done here."

He sighed deeply and looked away taking a step back. "Fine. Go!" He told her vexed, walking away. Mabel turned around and did the same. Neither of them looked back. Her destination was clear. She hated to be the one delivering the dreadful news, but no matter how much it hurts, Pacifica deserves to know the truth. Mabel took the decision by putting herself in Pacifica's place, and she'd definitely want to know it before she went out to kill the guilty chick. The gates were wide open as if they knew she was coming, the butler let her in without wanting too much info on her visit, and he led her to Pacifica's bedroom quite quickly. Bummer, she wanted to chat with him for longer.

"Hey Paz?" Mabel said in a sing song voice, knocking and entering the room. "It's May-May on the line. Are you here? It would be nice to know I am not talking alone, you know?" It wasn't as big as the colorful girl thought it would be. The size of a normal room actually. Though it was between dark and light inside, even if outside it was a little over midday. The curtains were pulled, and a mess of round used tissues were thrown randomly around, nearly covering the entire floor. _She knows..._ Mabel told herself internally. Biting softly her lip, she walked over to the place where the sniffing sounds were coming from.

Pacifica was sitting on the floor with her knees brought up to her chest and looking like a car ran over her pony. Her appearance said everything that needed to be said. Her blonde hair usually brushed and free was now tied in a messy bun. She was still in her pyjamas when any other day around this time she'd be already wearing her third outfit. Not that her pyjamas weren't cute, because they were. Light blue shirt with different writings on it in black bold letters and three quarter white pants with light blue patterns on it. It was the red flannel shirt Pacifica was wearing that bothered Mabel because she knew exactly whom it belonged to.

"Assuming that you are not in this state because the next 50 Shades of Grey movie is coming in 2017." Mabel took a seat on the floor next to Pacifica. "Then I suppose you know why I am here..."

"Yes." Pacifica said, keeping to wipe her eyes. Her eyes were red from crying. Her face was stained by the tears, and she looked more down than Mabel ever saw. Was she really in love with Dipper? Boy, and Mabel has a bet going which she's about to lose if it's true.

"And... how are you going to handle it?" Mabel asked carefully, wrapping her hand around Pacifica's shoulder soothingly. "If it helps in any way, I'll be there for you... I know how hard break ups can be." The blonde squeaks and she leans in so much her head almost touches the floor, before she rises again.

"It hurts... probably right after you left he called... and he explained everything. I guess I deserve it. It's actually God teaching me a lesson about my behaviour."

"No one deserves this... you really love him don't you?"

"I do." Pacifica cried "Answer to both questions. I love him... he's smart, handsome and such a free spirit. Honestly if you asked me in the spring if I will ever look at a homeless guy and consider him my future boyfriend, I would have paid someone to kill you." She sighed deeply and her eyes glued on the floor with a far away look on her face. "He speaks his mind and he's not afraid of it. All my life I was taught to be perfect, not to speak back, and always do what I've been told. Then Dipper came in to my life and he was so imperfect that he became the most perfect thing for me."

"Paz... you're going to find other guys." Mabel told her softly "Dipper was just a tiny bit part of your life."

"I don't want other guys. I want him! He's so simple, and all I need... my parents tried to match me with some rich assholes when they saw me with Dipper. I was so happy with him. He showed me the beauty of a normal life and how to enjoy small things. And in my whole life that was the first time I've ever been alive and not my parents' puppet."

"I didn't know... that your parents are like that." She slapped her knees and stood up cheerfully "Come on! Let's get you out and out of this state! I can't promise I will heal your broken heart, but I can try to make you feel better."

Pacifica's body shook with a painful cry. "There's something more..." Mabel raised an eyebrow when the blonde looked down and hugged the red flannel even closer "Dipper introduced me to Danielle after his friend Doug left. And asked me to hang out with her for a night to get her used being in Gravity Falls. I invited her to sleepover at my house with my other friends. We got along pretty well, she is indeed pretty, and at some point we were playing truth or dare. When it came to her turn, she chose truth and Lindsey asked her if she was still a virgin. Danielle smiled and said that she wasn't... out of all of my friends I was the only one who was still a virgin."

"So? I am one too!I It's not a shame."

"Danielle told me why she gave herself to the guy... She told me that they like virgins. And if we make them wait for too long, they might get tired of us and leave. Honestly, it was clear Dipper was this kind of guy, but I never wanted to believe it... so... one night I suggested it... He asked me if I was sure and looked at me with incredible eyes. I told him that I am... And I gave myself to him in that night... I swear it was the best night of my life, I never felt so loved and so good. I felt cherished and happy because for that moment he was mine just as much as I was his. And it was so perfect..."

"Oh Paz..."

"And I don't regret anything. Seriously, if I knew how this would have ended I'd still do it." Mabel didn't know what came over her, but she gave Pacifica a very tight hug. Probably because she knew exactly what the blonde was going through. "And what's the worst part? I broke up with my baby's father." Searching through the used tissues she revealed a white stick and showed it to Mabel. "So... don't you want to congratulate me for being pregnant?"


	45. Chapter 45

"Tell me again. Why are you doing this to me?" Danielle asked with tears in her blue colored eyes. "Everything was fine between us, we were perfect together!"

"That's the point." Dipper replied sticking his hands in his jeans pockets. "We were perfect, but our perfection caused many people I care about a lot to be hurt. And I'm not looking for perfection, I'm looking for imperfection because that's were the true perfection lays..." by the look on her face, he realises he went too far with his philosophical side "Didn't you see that we would not resist together until the end of the summer?"

"Of course I knew that!" Danielle cried, her blue eyes red. "But still... I hoped that..." She trailed off looking away.

"I would leave my friends and what I consider to be my home town to be with you?" Dipper inquired with a raised eye brow. "Truth to be told. I don't know the answer to that question myself... because, and trust me on that, I would've loved to spend the rest of my life around Doug, but also I wouldn't want to leave Mabel and the gang, even Stan and Soos, and the other town folks... not when I finally started to bond with all of them. It's a weird feeling that I have been having ever since I stepped foot in this town... like I belonged here all along. It's difficult to explain..." a honk's sound made them both turn away to see a bus coming to the station. Dipper looked at Danielle one more time before handing over her luggage "Your ride's coming... I'm sorry it had to end like this."

"You really don't want to come with me do you?" she asked with one final string of hope in her eyes. "Why do you want to stay so badly?"

"I'm gonna be a dad, Danielle." Yes, she knew that. "I know I made a lot of mistakes... from cheating to lying and betraying and losing my friends. I crossed the line multiple times and I have to stop. Wish I would've realized sooner what kind of a person I was... no wonder why my own mother didn't want me." he gave a mocking laugh just as the bus stopped in the station. "As I said, I'm gonna be a dad. I literally ruined a girl's life who had it whole before her eyes. Mine is already like that. This time I want to do something right... I want to step up. And for that, you can't be here... I don't want my kid someday to ask me why mommy is one woman and I am with another."

"You're staying with her... you choose her just because you want your kid to think you're happy with its mom?!"

"I think togetherness is a very important ingredient to family life." Dipper replied "I was abandoned as a child myself... I will not let my own child be that way too. And I'm lucky enough at my age to be in love for real with the mother, and have that baby conceived out of love, not for just a few minutes pleasure... Sure, we may not know what true love is, but I feel like we're getting there." he put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her in the eye "I see me and Pacifica back together in the future. I see us having a family and being happy despite everything I've put her through. With you I see only the present, a fun type to pass the time that will not last for too long." he shrugged his eyes moving to see the opened doors. "So... This is where we part ways and say goodbye. It was nice to get to know you Danielle, tell Doug I said 'hi'."

* * *

"Guys! I need to talk to you about something!"

"What is it now Dipper?" Lee teased him. "Another girl you knocked up?"

"You idiot!" Nate yelled at Lee punching his shoulder "I was going to make that joke! Why did you stole it from me?"

"Stole it from you?" The blond scoffed "You can't even think. What can I steal from your mind if there's night in there?"

"Why you-"

"Guys!" Dipper shouts at them. "Cut it out, will you?" He wondered if there was a single day in this year when Lee and Nate got along without fighting like children ready to rip each other apart. Even Tate is more mature than them. And the boy is only fourteen years old.

"You know you're wasting your breath, don't you?" Tambry asked not bothering to raise her eyes from the phone's screen. "Ten years from now and they'd still fight like that. Or maybe worse."

Dipper rolled his eyes at her, mainly because he knew she was right. Then he looked over to check if everyone is there. When he saw Robbie, Tate, and Thompson, he ignored Lee and Nate's bickering and began to speak for those who were willing to listen. "As you all know already, I screwed up many things recently. And even if I can't make up for all of them, at least I can try. First, I'll start by apologizing for being such a brat."

"Aren't we all?" Robbie grinned at him.

"Second." Dipper continued with a small grateful smile. "And you know that too. I'm going to be a dad. And this time I want to make it right, so I'll have Pacifica move in with us because I don't trust her parents from the way she spoke to me about them." Biting his lower lip he showed he wasn't finished yet. "And I want to do right by Mabel for she has been by my side everytime I needed her and even when I didn't. I know it upsets her what we do, so I came up with an idea... how about we stop stealing?"

"And how do you plan to live smart guy?"

"I'm getting there, I was thinking. What if we stop making the shows to steal and... we do like we saw on the internet. I mean, we keep doing our shows, but we lay down a hat or a box and we let the people give us what they think we are worth. This way we can find out if we're really cool or we really suck."

"And how to you suggest to split the money?" Thompson wondered

Dipper grinned and went by Tate's side wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "With the help of this smart guy. That if he agrees with it."

"I will." Tate smiled happily. "I'm glad you came back to your senses. I'll help you with anything I can. You know... I sensed the pride in your voice when you told us the news about your baby. You are right. Bringing new life to this world is a special accomplishment. Raising your child to become as human as wonderful as you are is even greater. And I think I speak for all of us when I say we look forward to watching you flourish as new parents." everyone looked at the fourteen year old and held an awkward moment of silence.

"Sometimes I think you're too mature for this world Tate."

"So I've been told."

"I mean it, go outside and play."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Mabel never expected for Dipper to show up at the Mystery Shack. At least not so soon. She thought he's going to be stubborn, not come to see her. But then again, he might not be here for what she thinks. Maybe he came because he needs something from her...

"I need something from you." He told her. She scoffed and wanted to close the door in his face, predicting that move, Dipper put his foot in the door way. "I need your forgiveness. I need you to listen to me." She hesitated a moment, studying his expression. Then she let him in. "Be quick. My friends are here, we're having a sleep over tonight."

"Ok..." he muttered under his breath and his eyes locked on the brunette girl "Candy I think it's best to start with you. I'm... super really sorry for using you the way I did. What I did is repulsing and revolting and it makes me feel sick and terrible for playing with your feelings, taking away your chance to have your first time just the way you wanted to... I ruined that for you, and I know I don't deserve forgiveness. At least not as much as you girls deserve to know how sorry I am."

Candy blushed. She was touched deeply by his words. "It's alright Dipper." She smiled at him trying to look not too impressed in the same time. "We all make mistakes and what truly makes it worth is that it made you walk here and step over your pride to apologize."

"I don't think so, Can-Can." Grenda said shaking her head, crossing her arms to her chest. "I think someone paid him to do it."

"Actually, no." Dipper chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I'm going to need a hell lot of money from now..." He dropped his hand and let go of the relaxed attitude. "Mabes... I don't think I can express in words how much I want you to forgive me." The boy told her on a very serious tone approaching her "All you've been trying to do this summer is to show me that there's always something worth fighting for. You thought of me as someone worth fighting for, when no one else did. You have this strange powers... You see the best in people, make them do their best, you bring the dark to light and add some glitter to it then take it out for a rainbow ride." He needs her. If he wants to survive his miserable life, he needs her. Just like siblings need each other... Just like twins. "I can't make up for everything I've done, but at least I can try. I came all this way to apologize, I sent Danielle home, I'll have Pacifica move in with me, and I'll tale care of her every day, and I came with a solution for the stealing problem too. Consider them all of these done, done and gone."

Mabel looked at him unsure.

"But one thing is missing from this equation. The only thing that keeps everything else in balance, harmony, the only thing that keeps everything from falling apart, the only thing everyone needs most and goes to when there's a problem... and it's you Mabel."

Mabel hesitated again. Then her ice cold face began to melt... her face lit up, and her lips curled up into a small then giant smile. She opened her arms and Dipper didn't waste his time to give her the tight hug she just asked for.

And when Mabel thought the night couldn't be ending in a better way, Stan Pines came back home.


	46. Chapter 46

"Alright. Not that I'm not happy you're back dad, but if you told me from the beginning that you'd bring mom along the ride, I would've gotten my party clothes out sooner."

"Heh." Stan popped up a can of beer "And I thought you won't notice her so soon. Barely thought you'd notice us at all." Teenagers these days don't notice anyone besides themselves. And if they do notice someone else than them, it's most likely because they want/need something.

"Oh, Stan. Just because she's your daughter, that doesn't necessarily mean she has to have your genes too." Carla says joining them. "And are you seriously drinking beer at this hour? It's barely a few minutes over ten a.m. that's too early even for you."

"Hey, it's never too early, or too late, to drink beer." Stan argued, giving her a sly wink. Carla rolled her eyes, and Mabel beamed at her parents. They way they were acting around each other hasn't changed at all, and even if they are not romantically involved, she can see the love in their eyes. "And I'm going to leave now before you find what I plan to drink for lunch."

"Okay then, I'll bother you later!" Carla called after him and waited until she was sure they were alone. "Now... since your dad doesn't want to talk about this part of his life with you, I guess it's my duty to explain some things which you clearly want the answer."

"That's why you're my mom."

Carla giggled. "For starters, honey, your dad doesn't tell you things like that for a reason... ever since you were a little girl you saw him as your personal hero, which didn't change over the years, and even I am sometimes amazed by his quick thinking and strategical lies. He won't change who he is, but he also doesn't want to stain the image he has for you. A lot of bad things he did, he never told you about them because he wants to stay your hero. Though he would never admit that, he is too proud." she leaned over the table and tucked a strand of Mabel's long brown hair behind her daughter's ear. "One of your dad's enemies tried to blame him for something he never did, he had to run away so you wouldn't be put in any possible danger and somehow he ended up in Piedmont. This man followed him there, determined to put the blame on Stan. Stan gathered all the clues police needs to so this enemy will be put in jail. While I let him hide at my place, Stan suggested me to come over here for a week, so when the sea is finally calm I can go home safely. And spend some time with you. Don't get me wrong I love our phone chats hours, but... it's so much better to see you in person."

Mabel leaned over the table and gave her mother a hug and a pat on the back "You know he probably did that just to lower the phone bill, don't you?"

"Oh, yes I do."

Stan Pines never changes.

"So, which party are we going tonight?"

"Surprise me."

"Well, Dipper told me about this new club opening 'White Cross'. And there's a big dance floor, lots of people will be there and some of my other friends."

"Then two of those people will be us." Carla declared, giving her daughter a kiss on top of her head. One of their most beloved mother and daughter bonding times was going to parties together and have some fun while having the girls night out. And later on turning it into a contest of who can attract a guy mostly to convince him give them a free ride home. Other activities meant shopping together, gossiping, talking about their lives, and plotting together against annoying neighbours. Mr Wesney still wonders why his cat ran away and if it will ever come down of the highest tree in the park. Carla and Mabel... not so much.

* * *

"Pacifica, I'm telling you, it's a bad idea."

"Shut up Dipper, geez. I'm already a nervous wreck and I certainly don't need you to make it worse for me."

He really tried to convince her not to go home. The Northwest manor was far away from the Junkyard, and he didn't trust her parents after they found out she was pregnant at fifteen with a homeless boy's child. It's the feelings he got that tell him to make her stay. Because he knows they would never agree for her to keep their relationship going. They are too plutocrats and champagne socialists to allow this blow go so easily into the wind. He never agreed for her to talk to them and surely doesn't want her to see them again.

"Look, I'm just going to take some clothes and some money and then I'll come back. I don't want to get rid of our baby, and they can't make me do something I don't want to. Not anymore." She appreciates his worryness, and definitely trusts him more since he sent that minx home. He frets about her and her needs every day, if she asks for food at two a.m. in the morning he gets it without complaints... he really stepped up. What Pacifica is dreading about is if he does this for her of for the baby. What if the baby attracts him more than she does? What if he takes the baby and leaves her after she gives birth? She knows he has been orphaned as a baby and perhaps he does this because he doesn't want his child suffer the same fate. The thoughts make her sick and she tries to vent them away.

"Fine, but be home by ten. I'll be here around eleven, if not twelve." He was stuck reading his journal again and barely looked up from it. It was one of the few things Pacifica learned to deal with. What she could not wrap her head around yet was living the poor life style. The change had been so sudden and even if it would've happened over time, she'd still have a hard time giving up her wealthiness. To become rich from poor was one thing, but to become poor from rich was completely another. "And when I'll climb up this tree house, I want to see you sleeping in our bed. So I can sleep well with you in my arms."

He was really sweet and none of her other rich matches had ever treated her that way. She leaned in and pecked his lips. "Don't worry, I'll stay safe. And you, mister, don't you dare drink too much. If you do, I'll know."

"Got it!"

* * *

"So, you must be Dipper." Carla was more than excited to meet Candy and Grenda, and all of Mabel's friends. Especially this boy that she has been talking about all summer. "I'm Carla, Mabel's cool mom."

"Do I have another mom who is uncool?" Mabel wondered out loud

Dipper let out a wolfish whistle. "Madame, you could pass so easily as her older sister, no one will ever question you if you're her mother."

Carla giggled in response and leaned to Mabel whispering "You're right, he's really good with words. Do you think he can get us a ride home?"

"Oh, don't worry." Dipper replied "I'll give you a ride home. I don't plan to drink tonight, got my babe home waiting for me. Plus that, I'd never let Mabel go home alone. Or you for that matter."

"Alright then." Mabel clapped her palms together "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! HIT IT SOOS!" While Robbie and Tambry, who tagged with Dipper, also got to meet her mother, and Candy and Grenda joined too. Mabel remained alone at the table for a moment, staring at one empty glass. The temptation to drink was so damn big and she knew she won't be able to resist it. Fuck those lesson. She needs alcohol. "Hey." she got to the bar tender "Could you give me a shot?"

"I'll give you two. On the house." he gave her a wink and she smiled. She learned that in those situations her looks were very helpful.

"Don't you even dare." a voice called from behind and Mabel's eyes widened.

"Ian? You idiot!" she cried hitting him "I told you my mom is in town, what the heck are you doing here? If she sees you, you're dead!" any desire to drink disappeared as more important worries took over.

"I knew if you were coming here, then you'd start drinking again, and I was right!" he said sharply, taking the glass from her hands with visible anger in his eyes. "You haven't been to enough A.A. meetings and you gave in the temptation too easy!" he knew what the desire could do to a person as he was an ex-alcoholic person himself. Ian loved Mabel too much to let her go through this alone as he did. And if he has to stick around every time there's a slight possibility for her to only see alcohol, then that's exactly what he's going to do. He's going to provide her the protection she needs and he won't have it any other way. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" he asked softly this time caressing her cheek lovingly.

Mabel took a shaky breath. "My dad's home. And he never tells me anything. Recently, I found out all his life he wished to have a boy, that just started it all. Then it's the stressful life. Some people in this town think I'm as much of a cheater and liar as my dad is. I've been through a rough path lately, and being drunk helped me forget it. Even if it lasted only a moment. It was one perfect moment of silence and peace worth every drop."

Ian looked at her for a moment, then he tried to kiss her and she was going to let him do it. Only that... "YOU!" The second she landed her eyes on them Carla was on fire. "Mabel, what the heck is he doing here?!" she cried coming in between them.

* * *

"Why aren't you answering me?" Dipper muttered under his breath, this was the sixth time he tried to call Pacifica and she didn't answer him. Currently he was in the man's bathroom because the signal was at its best there. "Come on, Paz. What's so hard to slide the green side?" he groaned and put his phone back in his pocket. He was going to leave his phone on vibrate in case she calls back. He doesn't know why, but he has a very bad feeling about this. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, it took one blink for the reflection to have golden eyes instead of brown. It took one breath before he felt the crucifix around his neck curling, beginning to take away his breath.


	47. Chapter 47

**_I cannot make that decision for you. It is up to your personal feelings if you want to continue reading the story or not, I am never going to judge you if you don't. Just because all of us chose red, we mustn't judge the one who chose blue (just an example that popped into my head right now). We all see different things in different ways, and our tastes might or might not be compatible. Even so, I believe that we must understand those who do not share our appreciations, especially since our own selves might not share theirs either._**

 ** _Perhaps from now I should give a warning whenever a Dipcifica moment starts and ends. [Suggestion]_**

 ** _Thank you for reading this story so far, and my sincere apologies if it didn't always reach 100% of your expectations. [Addressing to everyone who reads this]_**

* * *

The crucifix around his neck began to twist and turn strangling Dipper with an incredible force. If Bill can not have this body, then no one can. Not even Dipper. He gasped for air, tears bricking at the corners of his eyes. He could see himself in the mirror turning red. He could see the reflection's golden eyes and practically hear the maniac laugh of the demon he despised so much. **_"Keep surviving. Stop crying. Start climbing. Less hiding. More trying. Brightly shining. Brave fighting. Mass dying. BILL IS WATCHING!"_** What Dipper did not know, but Bill did, was that while he was being choked, someone else was about to suffer the same fate. In another dimension, Stanford Pines, the boy's biological father, was currently taking a break with his companion when he felt the crucifix around his neck beginning to strangle him. Both of them were about to die, and both of them heard that dark voice speaking to them.

Ford struggled with it trying to take it off, but the damn thing acted as if it was possessed. He fell to his knees trying to catch any bit of air and it seemed to make the situation worse because the chokehold got even tighter. Seconds away from passing out, in one last attempt for surviving, Ford grabbed the crucifix and pulled it. Then a pair of sharp claws cut the string out of nowhere, saving Stanford's life.

"Traveler, you ok there?" The talking animal and companion of the human came just in time.

Ford nodded taking deep breaths, preventing himself from blacking out right there. "It's the last time I'm waiting for you outside the bar. Do you hear me Larf?"

"Unfortunately. Hey, it's not my fault you didn't want to come inside and meet some chicks. You at least _have_ the advantage of being young and yet you let it go to waste."

"I told you I have other priorities which hold a greater importance to me than meeting some alien ladies. I'm still very much in love with my son's mother." Ford replied standing up, swaying from one side to another due his sudden dizziness. "Bill knows we are here. We must go." Once he was well enough to walk, Stanford bent over and picked up what remained of the crucifix.

"Uhh, traveler? That thing just tried to kill you. Why are you taking it back? Shouldn't have I helped you?" Humans are weird. As rare as they are, but still weird. Not to mention confusing.

Ford put it in his pocket with a content smile. "This is the only thing I have from my world except my journal. I can feel a connection with my son wherever I'm wearing it. And by trying to kill me now, Bill proved to me how much he does not want me to ever come back to my home dimension or to find my son."

The giant orange colored, with black and white fluffy fur, cat grinned "Too bad that this time Cipher is not getting what he wants. Eh?" Stanford could only smirk in response. If Bill tried to attack him now, after a long time he left the author alone could only mean one great thing. He must be getting close.

Back in Gravity Falls, Dipper couldn't feel the connection with Stanford because he's not even aware of the man's existence. He felt something indeed. But if he couldn't name it, he brushed it away. Just like Stanford has his companion to save him, Dipper had one too. Robbie came to check on Dipper, and that's when he saw the boy on the floor fighting between life and death. He acted quickly, and following his instinct, Robbie pulled so hard on the string it ripped instantly. Dipper breathed in relief and found he couldn't stand up yet. He was dizzy and shaking, and on the verge of passing out. Which he eventually did.

Robbie took him out of the club and dragged him inside the car. If anyone asks, then he's gonna tell he drank too much. Then he went back inside to take Tambry, Mabel and her mom. The party was dead any way. When he found Tambry, she was recording something on her phone.

"What's up?"

"Mabel's mom just found Mabel's guy, he's so fucking hot, but he's kinda a little old for her." she laughed, eyes never leaving the recording. "Never thought that sweet girl capable of this. That's it, I'm gonna accept her friend request."

Robbie raised an eye brow and gave a confused look before looking into the direction she was filming. He saw Mabel, and Mabel's mom, and a guy who had to be around his thirties. "No." he muttered under his breath as soon as he saw that man. Yes, he was handsome. Yes, he was well dressed. Yes, he must hella rich. But this is not, _this is not_ , Mabel's style.

"How did you find us?" Carla asked him, waiting for Ian or Mabel to say one thing wrong. So she could finally explode.

"Mom, listen to me, he's only-"

"I wasn't speaking to you sweetie." Carla cut her off coldly and quickly without tearing her eyes from Ian "Haven't you caused enough damage already? Can't you get the message that never in a million years I will accept _you_ dating _my_ baby girl?!"

"I'm only trying to help her. She needs this more than you think." Ian told her

"And I need you out of our lives. _Forever._ " then Carla grabbed Mabel's hand dragging her away "Your dad's going to hear about this." ignoring her gasp, and trying hard not to imagine her horrified look, Carla soon found Robbie and Tambry dancing (or pretending at least to dance when they noticed them approaching) and tapped their shoulders asking them if they minded to get them home. To her surprise they accepted without any questions, and when they reached the car Dipper was already there.

"Hi guys." he greeted them acting as if he was not about to go to the other side of earth mere minutes ago. He was tapping on his phone boredly. "This party died for me, but I didn't want to ruin your fun, so I decided to wait here." Mabel saw the red lines around his neck, but she had bigger problems to worry about now. After they left them home, she ran to her room and waited for the worst to happen. Carla walked inside a little later and found Stan drinking Pitt Cola in the gift shop.

"If you're not here to work or buy something, you're free to go." Stan told her and Carla resisted the urge to laugh. He was counting his cash and she could almost see the dollar sign in his eyes with his wicked grin.

"Hello to you too." she replied sitting on the counter close to him. "I've got my eye on one of your employees. How much do you want for him?"

Stan leaned back in his chair "Madame, I'm a very wanted man by the ladies. The price is fair, three thousand, and you will spent a night with your future husband." Carla looked at him for a moment before she turned her head away laughing. It's the same game they used to play years ago when Stan was working at his family's Pawn Shop, and they were highschool sweethearts, and it hasn't lost its charm. "So... how was your night?"

"It was great... up to a point."

"How so?"

"I've met her friends, we had fun, but I can't help it... I hate lying to my bonbon."

Stan scoffed with an annoyed expression "Do you think I feel any better? She's my baby too... What do you think of the kid?"

Carla smiled "Dipper is... quite a guy. He's Stanford from inside out and it hurts me to know that he has no idea of his family ties... Mabel told me some stuff about his life..." she took his hand into her linking their fingers together. "Stanford would've been proud of him. The boy managed to pull out of some hard situations, and there is now, living his life without knowing his best friend is his cousin. Living without knowing what his father did for him..."

"Look." Stan gave her hand a squeeze grabbing her attention. "I've got all the pieces for the portal, but I need the other two journals to get it started. I have a demon on my back who loves to play sick game... but I'm sure by the end of the summer, everything will be alright. Mabel and Dipper will know the truth, and Stanford will be back, we're going to be one big happy family like those stupid ones we see and laugh about when we watch TV."

"Good..." Carla said "I love our daughter so much, I'm so sorry she has us as her parents." she let out a deep sigh, knowing he could feel her pain too "She made our lives so much better, and we couldn't even be entirely honest with her for fifteen years."

Stan could only reply with one word, as the sentence hit him harder than he expected to, because it was the truth. "Ditto."

* * *

Pacifica never told Dipper that she had the same feeling as he did. He would've forced her to stay... and she didn't want that. She wanted to prove her parents she could be independent from them. She wanted to show them she's not their puppet anymore. She... never actually told them she's pregnant... Not face to face. Now it was the perfect time and she honestly doesn't think she is ready for it. Everything is happening way too fast for anyone to catch up.

"Hi...I'm here to see my parents." She told the butler who replied to her that Preston and Priscilla will be acknowledged of her visit. Pacifica rolled her eyes knowing what that meant. The butler will come back in a few hours to tell her how busy her parents are and ask her to come some other day. Pacifica sighed. People don't change. How couldn't she see it earlier?

Going upstairs to her old room, she grabbed some clothes and money she saved. Stuffing them in her bag, she took other things like her favorite plush toy, her charger, her MP3, her laptop, and her make up (a girl's gotta take her of herself). By the time she was done, and ready to leave, she took one last look of her old life... and then she looked forward to her new life. Surprisingly her parents were waiting for her where the stairs started. She didn't expect to actually come and see off, even if she's their only child.

"Father... mother..."

"Pacifica dear." Preston greeted her back with an icy tone, and obvious anger. Any rich and proud man would expect higher of his children. "We are here to apologize properly."

"What?" the girl almost dropped her bag when she heard her father. "Are you serious?" they nodded simultaneously "Oh my God!" she cried going to hug them both, her eyes filled with tears of happiness. They... understood. They finally understood.

"Believe us when we say we want the best for you." Priscilla hugged her daughter back "And we hope that one day you will forgive us for doing this."

Pacifica never had the time to reply at her mother's last sentence. She was never aware of the servant who approached her from behind. The moment Preston and Priscilla moved away to break the hug Pacifica gave them, Pacifica only managed to turn and see that servant who pushed her down the stairs with force. The stairs were short, long, and definitely harsher than anyone would give them credit for. How many rotations she did during her fall, Pacifica couldn't tell. How much it hurt, that she could do. By the time she reached the end of the stairs, her head hit hard the last one. Making one final turn, she passed out after she landed on her back with a bleeding head and a very sharp pain in her stomach.

Both Northwests turned to the servant, too cold hearted after what they just done. Like they never cared in the first place. "Now that this issue is solved, send that girl who called us, her check... Danielle was her name? Oh, and send her a basket of sweets too. She did us a great favor."


	48. Chapter 48

_**A/N: Song: The Neighbourhood - Daddy Issues**_

 ** _Link: watch?v=zb5k-n6BtEA_**

* * *

 _ **Take you like a drug,**_  
 _ **I taste you on my tongue.**_

 _ **You ask me what I'm thinking about,**_  
 _ **I'll tell you that I'm thinking about,**_  
 _ **Whatever you're thinking about.**_  
 _ **Tell me something that I forget,**_  
 _ **But you might have to tell me again,**_  
 _ **It's crazy what you do for a friend.**_

Carla walked in that morning to Stan, having her things already packed. The fog wrapped around Gravity Falls and decided to stay there for a little while by the cold temperature that settled. The two worked together, if not, then the sun could not shine brightly at midday and bring its heat. She knew it was safe and it was time for her to go home. She would've wanted to stay a little more and spend more time with Stan and Mabel, and she knew that Stan felt the same way! Unfortunately, things don't work that way. They are not teenagers anymore. They are adults, they have a child together, and she must always come first.

"I took a test earlier." she thought it would be wiser to inform him of that too "I'm not pregnant."

"Good." Stan replied simply. "We dodged a bullet out here, you know that?"

Carla rolled her eyes. "Always a pleasure to have your support." She told him ironically. A part of her agreed with Stan. Thanks to their stupid adolescent behaviour at her house in Piedmont, they could've been expecting their second child right now. And neither of them wanted to go through that again. Stan had his own issues to solve about getting his brother back and getting his nephew as close to the family as possible. He had his own issues to solve with that portal and that demon... He was in no condition to take care of a new baby, and Carla was in no condition to raise one alone. And if she were to move in the Mystery Shack, things would only get more complicated. From constant fighting, to yelling, and throwing stuff, saying things they never mean, and in the end shunning away their daughter because they were too damn busy trying to get along for the sake of the new baby.

If only things were much more simple in their lives, Stan still wouldn't tell Carla how much he truly wanted that second baby.

 ** _Go ahead and cry little girl,_**  
 ** _Nobody does it like you do._**  
 ** _I know how much it matters to you,_**  
 ** _I know that you got daddy issues._**  
 ** _And if you were my little girl,_**  
 ** _I'd do whatever I could do._**  
 ** _I'd run away and hide with you,_**  
 ** _I love that you got daddy issues,_**  
 ** _And I do too._**

"I never expected to live the day that _you_ from all the people would come to see. Five seconds later and I'm still alive from what I see."

"I never expected to live the day that _I_ would come to see you and five seconds later you'd still be alive... I guess we're both just as surprised."

Ian waited five more seconds before he let her inside his hotel room. He couldn't say anything yet. He feels like he's walking through a mind field he never signed up for. Carla McCorkle scared him because she was the type of mother who'd bring the end of the world for her child by snapping her fingers. And her child happened to be eleven years younger than him. Actually, if he added ten more years to himself, he'd be the same age as her parents! This whole situation is crazy because if you asked him a couple of years ago if he'd ever date a girl who's fifteen and not as wealthy as he is, he would've said instantly 'hell fucking no! Do I look like a baby sitter to you?'

"Mabel told me where you're staying, don't think I'd waste my time spying on someone like you."

Ian gave her a grin and offered her a drink. He couldn't say he didn't like their love/hate relationships. "Truth is, I'm a very boring person." he agreed, obviously mocking the words addressed to himself "I wouldn't spy on myself either. To what do I owe the pleasure of this announced visit? Oh, wait. You never announced me you were coming..."

"Because if I did, you would've told the staff downstairs not to let me in." Ian grinned at her again. She knew he knew she was right about that. "Actually, I'm here to talk about Mabel." this definitely got his attention on her fully "I'm going back to Piedmont today... and these last days I've been thinking about a lot of things... Mabel is my walking heart and soul... no words can ever describe how much I love and cherish her." she paused to take a breath. This was hard. Harder than she hoped it would be. "And umm... if I can't be here for her... then I want you to be." Ian's eyes went wide, catching on what she was implying. "I'm not saying I love you, yay, you'll be my son-in-law some day. God, no!... But I trust Mabel and her judgement... and if she finds you good enough for her... then so do I."

Carla got up and headed towards the door. She hated herself for lying so long to Mabel, and if this one thing can mend some of the pain when the truth will come out, then she's happy she has done it. Ok, she will be. "Wait!" she turned around, and saw that Ian also stood up, and she saw in his eyes a look of vulnerability she has never seen before. "Thank you."

"Take care of my daughter for me, will you?"

"I will. I swear."

 _ **I tried to write your name in the rain,**_  
 _ **But the rain never came,**_  
 _ **So I made with the sun.**_  
 _ **The shade, always comes at the worst time.**_

 _ **You ask me what I'm thinking about,**_  
 _ **I'll tell you that I'm thinking about,**_  
 _ **Whatever you're thinking about.**_  
 _ **Tell me something that I'll forget,**_  
 _ **And you might have to tell me again,**_  
 _ **It's crazy what you'll do for a friend.**_

Tate McGucket has seen in his short life more than many veterans of war had in a full life time. He lived with his insane father, he lived to know he was a rape-child, he was alive thanks to a demon, he was an abnormal child rejected by the society because of his ability to see the future, and for the first time in his life he lived to see a person he cared a lot about being brought down to the ground in the most painful way. He wanted to help and he didn't know how.

The news of Pacifica's accident spread quickly. The ambulance coming out of the Northwest Manor was seen by just one person and in twenty minutes the whole town knew something bad happened. He wished to help. Tate went to the hospital to see Pacifica and he found her laying on the bed, curled up, red faced, constant tears streaming down her face. He read in her eyes the sadness.

And he understood that Dipper never came to see her.

He gave his hand to her and she gave him a grateful weak squeeze. Pacifica was physically fine, she had only a twisted ankle.

But her baby died in this morning.

And she was psychically destroyed.

 ** _Go ahead and cry little girl,_**  
 ** _Nobody does it like you do._**  
 ** _I know how much it matters to you._**  
 ** _I know that you got daddy issues._**  
 ** _And if you were my little girl,_**  
 ** _I'd do whatever I could do,_**  
 ** _I'd run away and hide with you,_**  
 ** _I love that you got daddy issues._**

Mabel found Dipper in the old abandoned church. Before she left her home she had prepared this whole encouraging speech about not giving up, how life doesn't necessarily have to end there, and other things like that. And she repeated it in her head over and over again until she knew the words by heart (her literature teacher would be so proud since Mabel never bothered to learn more than three lines from any of Shakespeare's plays), but when she finally saw him sitting there, she knew that no words could help him right now. " ** _I keep on trying to let you go, d_** ** _ying to let you know, h_** ** _ow I'm getting on._** " Dipper was sitting across the large hole in the wooden floor, indian style, much like a crazy person closed between four walls. He was crying and singing in a low tone looking into nowhere with a ghost's look on his face. **_"_** ** _I didn't cry when you left at first, b_** ** _ut now that you're dead it hurts._** ** _This time I gotta know,_** ** _Where did my daddy go?_** " He knew... he knew about the baby. And she realised that all he wanted right now was a parental figure to help him and tell him everything's going to be alright. With tears flowing down on his cheeks so slowly and calmly it was almost scary, he looked in Mabel's eyes and he sang " ** _I'm not entirely here._** ** _Half of me has disappeared._** "

Mabel watched him lower his head again, drawing invisible patterns on the floor. " ** _Go ahead and cry little boy._** ** _You know that your daddy did too, y_** ** _ou know what your mama went through._** ** _You gotta let it out soon, just let it out._** "

She walkes carefully around the giant hole in the floor and goes to sit down next to him. " ** _Go ahead and cry little girl, no_** ** _body does it like you do._** ** _I know how much it matters to you._** ** _I know that you got daddy issues._** ** _And if you were my little girl,_** ** _I'd do whatever I could do,_** ** _I'd run away and hide with you,_** ** _I love that you got daddy issues..._** ** _And I do too._** " She was kind enough to let him finish the song before she opened her mouth to speak, her voice scratching through the cold silence like sharp nails on a blackboard.

"That's a nice song... you wrote it, right?"

"Made it up." he sniffed, blinking, acting as if he just came back home from a different dimension. "A few words, and then just fooled around." Mabel bit her lip. And they sat in an awkward silence for a while. Dipper might be enjoying that, but not Mabel. She wants to scream in his face _'tell me what to tell you, tell me how I can help you.'_ Maybe give him a few wake-up slaps too. But then she changes her mind, and instead of doing what she first thought of, she holds out her hand. And Dipper takes it.

"I went to church yesterday. Not this one, the other one, the available one." He told her, pausing to swallow. His nerves, his sorrow, he doesn't know. "Because I knew... the moment that ambulance left the Northwest Mannor, with Pacifica inside, I knew something bad happened." Resting his chin on his palm, and his elbow on his thigh, he takes a moment to lace their fingers together, squeezing Mabel's hand to reassure himself that he's not completely crazy already. "I never prayed in my life. Never. Not even once. I didn't even know how to pray... and when I heard, what happened... I went to that church... And I prayed so hard... I'm pretty sure I even made up for the past fifteen years."

"Oh, Dipper." She cups his face and brings him into a hug, resting her chin on his head, blinking back her own tears.

"I prayed so hard." Dipper sobbed into her shirt, embracing her the way she used to embrace her mother when she was young and sad. "I told God, to do me a favor, to help me out just this once so I can have both of them in my life. I-I told God I'd change... I said I'd forgive my mother... I said I'd forgive my parents for abandoning me, and I'd seek out the family I know I still have alive in this world, apologize to them, try to create a bond... I told God I'd go to Hell stay there happily for eternity if I could just hold my baby in my arms." And God gave His answer in this morning. Losing a child, no matter what age, makes your heart break in pieces that you never knew existed. Mabel realized he will never get over, he will get better with time, but he will never be able to get over the death of his child.

Dipper has been brought at his lowest in the most horrible way. And Mabel holds him and lets him cry for many hours... because this is the best way to start the healing process. After all, even the darkest night must come to an end.


	49. Chapter 49

**_A/N: I've been asked this probably since the day Stanford fell into the portal, 'when will Ford and Dipper be reunited?'... Now, now. Not that I want to scare you or spoil anything for you, but (after so many chapters I suppose you people got used to my twists) what would be your reaction if I told you that Dipper will die and Ford will end up killing himself, Stan will end up all alone, and Mabel leaves her family behind for good?_**

 ** _Hehehe..._**

 ** _Am I being too evil?_**

 ** _MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!_**

* * *

 ** _[I guess we can call this a Dipcifica moment]_**

When she heard the door opening, Pacifica just assumed it was one of the nurses, trying _again_ to convince her to take her medicine. And she was in no mood to deal with them right now, so she kept her back to the door, her face towards the window, and hoped whoever it was that person would go away and leave her alone. After a minute or so, hearing no movement or sound, she snapped "Why can't you just leave me alone for once?"

"I will." Her eyes widened and her breath sharpened "But we need to sort out some of our problems first."

She turned around. "Dipper, y-you came."

He leaned on the door with a beaten look on his face. She seemed happy to see him. "Mabel made me." Otherwise he wouldn't have. She understands and she nods while lowering her head, a bit of her sudden happiness dying. He's upset with her. "I'm not upset with you, Pacifica... I am furious!" He just didn't have the power to show it right now. "I told you not to go... And you did it anyway."

"I know, I'm sorry, I should've listened to you-"

"Do you think that a simple apology will make me forgive you?" He cut her off shoving his hands in his pockets "Do you think that 'sorry' will bring our baby back from the dead?" He was being cruel with her and he knew it too well... he just didn't care anymore. Dipper sighed dropping his head, hitting the floor with his shoe. "You knew how much I wanted to be a father... I wasn't ready for it either, but I wanted it so bad..."

"Look, I made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes." Pacifica cried tears showing up at the corners of her eyes "Please, don't abandon me now... You're the only one around who knows what I'm going through."

"I am not abandoning you, Paz." Dipper told her "I'm walking out on you." he vocalized what the moment of silence between these two phrases said already, both being loud and clear. "You can go back to your parents if that's what you want, or you can keep staying with the gang-"

"I want to stay with you!"

"And I don't!" Dipper shouted, covering her voice with his, also dropping down the bomb. It's only a drop of anger that shows on his face, which is gone as quickly as it came. "I can't even bear to look at you without wondering what could've happened if you listened to me that night! You're staying with the gang, I'm not letting you go back to your parents, but I won't stay there too. I'm moving in with Mabel and Stan in the Mystery Shack, and I don't want us to see each other for a while... We're done."

"Dipper, wait!" Pacifica threw the covers off herself and she stood up to her legs fighting the sudden dizziness "I need you! Don't do this!" He already turned around and opened the door to get out. To get out of that room, of that hospital... of her life. And yet she followed him. In the hall, two nurses came to her as soon as they saw her.

"Miss Northwest, you need to sit down and rest!"

Pacifica took absolute no interest in them. "Dipper!" She shouted, but Dipper was walking away from her... "I screwed up, ok? I want to fix this, please, let me fix this. Talk me out of it..." She yelled breaking down in desperate cries, held back by the nurses.

"It's too late for that." Dipper muttered under his breath as he kept walking away without turning around or turning back. He was so done.

 ** _[End of Dipcifica moment]_**

* * *

"Mabel... we need to talk." Stan seems serious about it. "Go outside, honey. You need to see something."

"Can't it wait?" Mabel whined without tearing her eyes from the TV. "Ducktective is about to solve the case, I swear it's the butler who did it. It's always the butler!"

"No." Stan dead panned "It's obviously the cook! He was too jealous of the butler because the mistress liked him better! And that's why he poisoned the food, but he didn't know the mistress will eat from that plate and die."

"Whaaaat? Psssh. That doesn't have like any logic in it!"

"Or really?" Stan crossed his arms and gave his daughter the 'I know I am right' look "Alright then, we'll wait until the commercials are over to see which one of us is wrong." He sounded certain it won't be him. After the commercials were finally over, Stan and Mabel held their breaths waiting to find out who's right and who's wrong, literally the one who can openly mock the other about it. So, they watched the entire episode until the end... And it turns out it was the maid, because there's no post on Sundays.

"What a rip off!" The two cried surprised, Mabel appreciating the twist though, both regretting they couldn't mock the other in the morning about being right. What a waste of time...

"So, what's the so important thing you wanted to show me an hour ago that couldn't wait?"

Stan finally came back to his senses, remembering what he has already forgotten, and he rushed outside. Dang... The porch was clean. "Soos!" He shouted at his handyman who was brushing around, while dancing with his broom and singing 'California Girls' to himself "Where is my trash? This place was dirty when I entered the Shack why is it clean now?"

"The dustmen came around the same I did, and then I said 'wow, this place is ugly.' So I helped them clean up." Soos answered

"I should've seen that coming." Stan muttered to himself with a low groan.

"I don't get it." Mabel said confused, scratching her head "Why are you getting so worked up about people doing work for free? Especially when it's work you were supposed to get done."

"It wasn't just normal trash you know... for a long time I wondered, what the heck happened? Am I getting that old? Has my eye sight gone bad? Well, the latter is already at it's worst, the only thing worse than my actual sight is blindness. But, when I check over the security camera, I found out some interesting things. One, Soos is great at dancing the one person tango-" Stan was interrupted by his handyman's proud shout.

"YES!"

"Second." Stan continued as if it didn't happen "There's always one of my precious alcohol bottles on the counter, at first I thought your friend Dipper wants to mess with me. But you're the only person I've seen drinking from them." He watched the horror plast on Mabel's face and the color drain out, still he continued "Counting them up, there were six missing when you finally realised I'm not that stupid not to notice, so you started filling the rest with water. I actually laid out all the bottles with water here and the empty ones, but these guys took them away... Now, I'll give you five seconds- he showed up his five fingers from the right hand- to come up with an amazing excuse before I go really mad."

Mabel watched the five fingers which started to go down one by one. Five. Four. She began to panick and shake her head, she tried to find a decent solution, but her mind came up with nothing. Three. Two. She breathes in and out soundly and quickly because she's literally got one more second. And by the time the last finger began to go down, she resulted to one thing... run and hide. It's what he does too when he's in trouble. And she's going to do the same. Give him some time to calm down. Give herself some time to come up with a better idea. Her legs work on their own. She takes a step behind, then two, then three, and then she turns around and she begins to run like she has never done before.

* * *

"Guys! Have you seen Dipper?" Tate asks when the others got the table settled outside, ready to eat "I haven't since this morning, and I'm a bit worried."

"A bit?" Nate asks incredulously "I'm seriously worried for him! The poor guy doesn't seem to catch a break!"

"Yeah!" Lee agreed with Nate, which was a total first "Every time he gets to breathe, another bad thing happens."

"First with his mother, then the operation, now Pacifica..."

"It's like fate is settled to make his life miserable." Tambry commented, leaning back on her chair

"Not fate." Tate muttered under his breath with an icy tone "Bill..." now he was sure of it. Bill was determined to take away everything Dipper has. To leave him with nothing. So when Bill will take over the world, Dipper would accept being his vessel, his literal portal, from the Mindscape to the reality. It all made sense now.

"Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't committed suicide yet."

Robbie spoke more likely just to join the discussion, he has no idea how much his words meant. And a moment of silence came. Everyone began to wonder... if Dipper is not here... then where is he? Tate tried to relax his mind telling himself he's most likely with Mabel. No, no, Dipper did not go into the forest to kill himself. No. And he voiced his thoughts to ease the others too, which they quickly accepted and believed. Dipper must be with Mabel.

"Hi there!" a voice cried loudly catching everyone's attention. The red haired little girl, twelve year old Wendy Corduroy came running in. "You don't happen to know where Mabel is, no?"

"What?" Robbie almost jumped up from his seat. "What are you talking about?"

"I went to the Mystery Shack to visit her." Wendy said "She promised to spend the afternoon with me, but she wasn't there. When I asked Soos, he was really awkward and babbled something about her and her dad having a fight. And then I thought 'Hey, if she isn't there then she must be with you guys'. Or with Dipper. Where is Dipper?"

Robbie's eyes went wide. Lee dropped the slice of pizza he was holding. Thompson stopped stewing the composition, he planned to bake something with the oven Robbie and Dipper found and repaired together. Nate and Tambry shared a worried look. Tate took a sharp breath and turned to the others. "We need to look for them. First we check the forest. I'll go to Dipper's room and see if he has the journal there or with himself."

"Hey, who made you the boss, kid?" Lee chimed in "Literally everyone important here is older than you."

Wendy gave him a dirty look crossing her arms.

"The kid left his journal here." Robbie held it up as he spoke. "Lee? Shut up. We all go to the forest and split up. If we don't find them in 24 hours we go to the police. Got it?"

* * *

"Wendy, it's almost midnight already." Tate whined. He might've gotten a bit more braver than he used to be a month ago, but he's still scared about being in the forest during night's time.

"No, it's not." Wendy replied "Stop whining. If you were the one missing, I don't think Mabel and Dipper would stop searching for you just because it's late."

"The forest scares me, ok?"

Wendy ignored him completely. Her lantern landed on a creature looking like a koala bear acting like a money, screeching like a bird, which seemed to be stuck in the tree, crying for its mother. "That poor thing needs help." She cooed then she turned back to Tate snapping at him "And if you're not gonna shut up, then at least help me."

"How?" Tate asked her "Even if you climbed on my shoulders, it's still too high. We can't reach it."

"Then look through the journal." The red head demanded "There must be at least one useful spell written in there."

"Ok. Ok." He agreed only to get her to stop yelling or snapping at him. Who knows what kind of hungry creatures her voice can attract to them? "Uh, here is one. _Corpus Levitus! Diablo Dominus! MONDO VICIUM!"_ For a moment nothing happened, then the ground started shaking. A huge crack formed between Tate and Wendy's feet, and they jumped away landing near a tree. Green smoke comes out of the crack. And a zombie slowly climbs out and roars.

"Oh, boy... That's not good."


	50. Chapter 50

"Mabes? You in here?" Dipper called for her, but he got silence as a reply. He rolled his eyes as he kept looking. He was in the forest trying to clear his mind about everything that happened and wanted to spend the rest of the day in the woods attempting to find the exact location of the Author's bunker. His determination to find that place had very little to do with science and mystery solving (which was a first), and more with finding out his idol's real identity. Actually finding the Author's identity would be another mystery solved, but never mind that one now.

Everything would've gone according the plan without any mistakes... Only that Dipper forgot the journal at the Junkyard, and there was no way he was going back to get it... He wanted to be left alone. What he didn't want, was more drama to deal with. That didn't happen. Once he saw Mabel's speed running and teary faced he knew something bad happened. Or Pikachu got hurt again. One of the two. Dipper decided to follow her and he was not surprised when he ended up at the old and abandoned church. Once he got inside he noticed she was nowhere to be seen.

Dipper concluded that she climbed down into the mines... So, he did the same thing and flicked on his lighter. Even in the middle of the day, the mines are dark as the night. "Mabel!" He tried calling again. "I know you're in here, I saw you running in." He waited for a response. Silence was his answer again. That until he heard a tiny sniff coming from somewhere close. So he took the largest tunnel.

The dinosaurs are in the most narrow one out of the first four tunnels. The second, normal sized, he and Mabel found in a pool filled with mermaids, speaking dolphins with british accents, and a very hateful electric eel that can crawl on ground, without getting any harm, as well as it can swim. Barely escaped alive back then, Mabel still wants to this day to go back there. The third tunnel, a large one, remains unexplored for the moment... He promised Tate he will take him some day to discover what it hides together.

"Mabel!" Dipper's voice echoed while he traveled through the darkness, a light was at the end which became brighter as he got closer. Dipper ended up to a dead end, small as a dwarf's house. The floor gave little place to sit around given that there was a hole filled with water in the middle which covered up most of the space. He wondered for a single moment what's on the other side, before his eyes landed on the one he has been looking for...

Mabel was staring into at the crater above, which provided the light, with her back on the stone wall and her knees brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around herself. Beside her the eggs Aoshima had laid were sitting still. "Oh, hi Dips. What... brings you here?" Mabel inhaled and exhaled loudly "I guess that you're not here to check if I am a grandma or aunt or graunt or whatever I'm supposed to become..."

"Nope." Dipper replied taking a seat next to her. "I came here because I want to help a friend in trouble."

"Oh, gosh." Mabel groaned burying her head between her knees. "I hate it when I'm the subject of these types of discussions. Why can't I be the subject of the newest Glitter Glint Glint magazine?"

"Because Glitter Glint Glint is stupid enough not to notice someone like you." Dipper told her. And he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Come on, tell me what's wrong. Tell me how I can fix this for you, or, who do I have to kill?"

She relaxed into his embrace, leaning her head on his shoulder, enjoying his warmth. "My dad... found out about my drinking problem." she said drawing different patterns on the ground with the tip of her finger. "And when he confronted me about it, I panicked. So badly that running away seemed the best and the only solution. Now I understand him better, if I could just be like him and leave this town, I don't think I'd ever look back."

He knew what she was really meaning. Running away from your problems is much more easier than staying and facing them. Once you ran away, the problems remain behind, while you keep moving forward. "I see what you're saying to me. I used to have that type of thinking, I recently got over it, please don't make me go back there... It's a dark place. I learned some new things lately, and I see life with different eyes than I used to before."

Mabel was curious. "How much different?"

"In a completely whole new way I never thought it could exist." Dipper replied in one breath "I used to think that too. I tried to run away from my problems and I kept doing that until I landed in Gravity Falls... And I had problems here too. And the old problems that I was running away from, caught up with me. No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, they'll always find you because they inevitably become a part of you. And soon these problems turn to what ifs. What if you left long ago when you had the chance? What if you never found the journal? What if you never make your amends?... And you know what's the worst part?"

"What is it?"

He hesitated to answer at first. "The worst part is that when your problems finally catch up with you, you're not paying for them. Others are. And in such a horrible way that makes you think it would've been better if you stood and faced them at first." Mabel bit her lip. She knew what he was talking about. The one thing she was powerless against, the one thing she could never fix for him. "What if faced my problems when I had to? Would my baby still be growing in the mother's womb?" Then he turned his head slightly pressing a kiss to her hair "Go and talk to your dad..." he whispered in a pained voice. "Don't be stupid. Don't push away people who try to help you. Don't become me."

Mabel had given some thought to it. And she asked him with a trembling voice "How can I look at him in the eye again, when I already know all he will see is a drunken person... not his little girl?"

"Then... he will have to get used to the idea that you're not a little girl anymore. You've grown up. You will keep growing up, and it's not a process anyone can stop. You're going to make some mistakes on your way to greatness, and if there's one thing I am sure of, is that Stan will always be right behind you to make sure you get back up on your feet again. Or sell your mistakes to the world as the 'do not do' movie series..."

"Okay, you convinced me..." She said with a sigh. She didn't want to face her problems, but it is part of growing up. The more she will shield herself from her dad, the further apart they will grow. "But first, I need to stay here a little more and wait for the other babies to come out of their shells."

Dipper's eyes widened and moved his head to see only two of the three being next to Mabel. "Oh my gosh!" He exclaimed

"Yup. When I came here the first one was already out sitting by the other two then he flew away." A small smile lit up on her face then a loud squeal of happiness and joyness struck through the silent mines. Mabel grabbed Dipper by the shoulders shaking him. "He is so cute!" she yelled "With his wings, and his small body. Did I tell you he can blow fire just like Aoshima?!" In all her excitement, she accidentally pushed the other two shaking eggs in the hole filled with water.

"Oh crap." They both said, and wasted a full minute staring. Then they shared a look, a nod, and dived in together. A quite shocking fact was that they could breathe under the water normally. And even more shocking was that by the time they reached the other side, they were dry as if they never got in the water. "The hell?" Dipper muttered checking himself over to find any drop of water.

"Wow! Look at that!" Mabel shouted and Dipper turned his head to see the place which was giant as a stadium, filled with ten feet tall stone soldiers. Mabel began to walk around them in wonder. It must be an entire army there! Each soldier was standing straight, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in another. Dipper explained to her that he read about this in the journal.

"The Stone Men civilisation. Long ago in a Kingdom reigned a good King. He had a wife, and two children, twins, boy and girl. The son went crazy thinking about the day the whole Kingdom will be his to rule. The King saw that, and named his daughter as his official heir to the throne, and said if he happened to die, then the Queen will take his place until the Princess will be ready. The Prince went insane when he found out. This army was the strongest one that ever was, and the Prince convoked them to a meeting saying it was the King's order. He waited until every single one was present and then he poured hot pitch from the ceiling and watched them all die, murdered his own mother, poisoned his sister, and after that he committed suicide by throwing himself off the highest tower in the Kingdom."

"Oh my god!" Mabel gasped after the story was finished, she touched one soldier and felt the cold stone. "W-Why would he do something like that?"

"The King..." Dipper told her "He refused to side with Bill. So, Bill possessed the Prince and took everything the King had. His army, his power, his family. Everything. As revenge the King created the most powerful spell that ever existed and he locked Bill in the Mindscape banning him completely from our world."

"And the Stone Men remained here... until now." A loud screech got them both distracted. Two magical pterodactyl hatchlings were helping their eldest brother. The eldest was black and red, one was golden, and the other was green. All three babies were blowing black fire on the Stone Men.

Before Dipper could come up with a theory, and before Mabel could ask herself why were the babies doing that, a movement echoed. Mabel looked around herself and the three pterodactyl babies flew to her. Two on her shoulders and the third in her palms. She froze when she saw a soldier's arm moving. And so did Dipper when he saw more moving.

 _'The black fire brought them back to life_.' Dipper realised. And then he grinned widely because he knew what was going to happen. Each one of the Stone Men began to turn to Mabel until every single one was looking at her. Mabel was scared and swallowed nervously.

One Stone Man took a step towards her. He was standing right in front of her, making her to look up at him. And when she thought that he was going to slice her neck open, he kneeled. He kneeled before the one who brought him back to life. And one by one, every soldier bent the knee to their new leader. Their Queen.

The three hatchlings screeched at their loudest.


	51. Chapter 51

**_A/N:This chapter contains mostly Dipcifica moments. Basically he saves her._**

* * *

Mabel was still in that euphoria state trying to wrap her mind about the Stone Men and the new addition to the family of three pterodactyl babies. And then her thought went to their mother wondering where was she. Did something happen to Aoshima which made her miss her children's birth? Then her thinking was rudely disturbed by Dipper snapping his fingers in her face. "Mabes, you ok there?" He asked her, this time a bit concerned of her moral state. She didn't look as well as she hoped. That or his vision inside people's true feelings is thicker and stronger than she remembered.

"Yeah, never been better." She replied, as they both climbed their ways out of the mines. He reached first the inside of the church, and then he helped her up too. Next, both of them covered their heads as the ruined building shook with them, bids of what remained in the roof falling down as well, the dome being now the only thing in that church left standing.

"What the heck?" Dipper muttered, before he rushed outside to see what's going on with Mabel trailing close behind him. What a glorious day not to have the journal in possession, he silently congratulated himself for that. Great. Just great.

"It's the zombie apocalypse!" Mabel shouted as she realised what were they surrounded by. They can't run away since they'd be caught in less than a minute and turned in ugly zombies like the rest. And she wasn't ready to be an ugly zombie! A cute one, maybe...

A loud cry in the sky startled the two human beings present, currently surrounded by the undead, and both looked up to see Aoshima flying above them in circles. That's when the fifteen year old girl figured out why the mother was too busy to attend her own children's birth, because she was too busy to protect them all five from dying today.

"You go, my favorite mutant pterodactyl!" Mabel cheered on, jumping up down in excitement, punching the air with a big smile plastered on her face. "Burn them all! Show them what it means to mess with us! Girl power!" Then she gave Dipper a reassuring wink, telling him she'll be fine on her own with Aoshima around and the three hatchlings who just joined the fight too.

He gave her a nod in return as he began to make his way out of the forest following the trail of zombie ashes. He had to find the journal fast, so he kept running. Taking one turn to the left when he finally got out, Dipper suffered from a sudden realisation and he had change of heart. So, instead of heading towards the junkyard, he ran all the way to the hospital. The zombie army seem to spread only to a quarter of the town so far, the hospital and the other buildings around it were safe.

"Pacifica!" He yelled storming inside, holding no bit of shame towards the people he unwantedly startled. There was only one on his mind and her safety was on top of his list, which was a surprising thing even for himself considering their last meeting and how it ended. He was worried about her. His heart was beating fast only thinking if she's fine or if something happened to her. And the fact that he did not know made it only worse.

He didn't stop running, pushing people out of his way, ignoring their calls, muttering an apology every time it happened... he had to be sure she's fine. He kicked her room's door open, the blonde girl jumped up throwing the magazine she was reading straight at his head with a panicked gasp. Neither Dipper, nor Pacifica moved a muscle as the magazine fell on his face and hit the floor. The following five seconds were also quiet. "What are you doing here?" Pacifica asked him "I thought you made it pretty clear that we're over. My parents will be so thrilled to know that by the way."

"No time for that." Dipper replied walking over to her "Do you think you can walk? Or run? No forget it, first we need a plan. Such a good one that we won't be needing a plan B. And we need a plan B too just in case." Turning around he took a moment to rub his temples, murmuring under his breath "Think, Dipper, think."

"Wow, wow, slow down cowboy!" The rich girl shouted waving her hands in the air. "Who said I agree to come with you? After everything you've done to me, you should be over the moon that I'm still speaking to you without a lawyer or a bodyguard!" Dipper turned back to look at her and opened his mouth to argue, but came up with a better solution. He took a step towards the girl, and crashed his lips against her's, holding her face between his hands. And for a moment both of them got lost into the kiss. "Okay." Pacifica said after they pulled away to breathe "Now, I'm listening."

"There is a zombie apocalypse outside, and I need to get you out of here!" He watched her expressions changing literally in five seconds to a different one. At first she wanted to hit him, then she was angry, then she put up a thoughtful face wondering if he was lying or not, and in the end she sighed.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but to me it looks like I'm obliged to ask... What in the world are you talking about?" A hard bang on the door ripped it apart breaking it beyond repairing, as one undead walked in, a lot more following after. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Pacifica cried outraged turning her anger back to Dipper "Has there ever been a time when I saw you and you weren't surrounded by any magical things?!"

"Sorry." Dipper replied with an apologetic smile, opening the window. "They come along with the package." He grabbed her hand, and dragged her after him, pushing her out first. For one moment she felt the pressure of the air around her and had the sensation that she was flying. By the time the blonde girl made the courage to open her eyes, they were already on the ground. She was holding tight on Dipper's waist with her head buried in his head. One arm he had it wrapped around her for extra protection and the other one in the air holding something gun like.

"Gotta love this grappling hook." He said trying to ease some of the tension, thinking how lucky they were to have that tree planted outside the hospital. "I think I should tell Mabel I borrowed it before she finds out it's missing or she's going to be mad. Come on now, we have to go to the junkyard, I need to find the journal and put an end to this."

* * *

"Dipper!" Wendy shouted with a smile spreading on her face. He was fine. He was alright. God, she was so relieved!

"What's up?" He asked, arriving with Pacifica, giving the young girl a relaxed and carefree smile despite the situation they were in "I'm leaving you alone only for a minute, and you start the zombie apocalypse?" He was glad that he and Pacifica got away without getting seen by any other zombies. And he was also glad that Wendy was fine too.

"Hehe." The red head laughed sheepishly, blushing a little, rubbing the back of her head. "Would you believe us if we said it was a mistake?"

"Us?" Dipper raised an amused eye brow. "Tate is here too? What about the others?"

"I don't know." She admitted "We split up to look for you and Mabel. I got away only because Robbie sacrificed himself to save the rest of us by remaining behind to distract the zombies for as much as he could."

"Dipper, what are we going to do? We can't hide forever." Pacifica said, and ignored the angry look Wendy gave her when she took away his attention.

"I remembered something that could help us, it's not going to beat them, but it will give us time to come up with a better way to fix this... I need a bottle of formaldehyde, cinnamon, a rocket firework, and duct tape. And I mostly need time if we want this idea to work. The two girls had confused looks hearing the items, but nodded nonetheless.

"Maybe, we can help." Another voice said, and all three turned to see Tate and his father. "They can distract them while I help you get the job done." Old Man McGucket climbed up a pile of junk and began to play his banjo loudly as they spoke. His son wasn't sure his father was aware of what was happening. His weird actions became a habit. And right now it might be their salvation.

The fireworks remained behind from the 4th of July, Dipper undid its circular bottom letting the powder fall on the ground. Tate brought the formaldehyde and cinnamon from his room, which he shared with Dipper now, (he's a scientist, he likes experimenting). And the duct tape was seen by Wendy on another pile of junk, spinning it around her finger, she threw it to Dipper who caught it perfectly. "Nice shot, Wen." He praised her with a proud grin, then went back to his work. Mixing the liquid with the cinnamon created a new wet powder, which he poured it back in the firework, and used the duct tape to glue back the circular bottom.

"I know!" Tate shouts with a big smile. "The formaldehyde with its irritating odor can make even the zombies leave this place and never come back. It messes up with their brains since coming back from the dead means most of their senses are revived and extremely sensitive! And by spreading it through the thin air you can secure all the area!"

"And the cinnamon is an addition to make the powder stronger and make Robbie go back to normal." Dipper completed, while checking over the rocket for any imperfect signs. "The cinnamon has a reversal role and I'm not sure why, but I'm not complaining either! Hey, watch out for the girls, I'm going in."

Patting Tate's shoulder, he walked away and climbed up a junk pile just as high as the one Old Man McGucket was sitting, being able to see him as if they were face to face. The man was playing his banjo without noticing the zombies crawling up to get him, including half zombie Robbie. Introducing two fingers in his mouth Dipper let out a wildly loud whistle just the way Doug taught him to. Attracting their attention, some began to climb the pile he was sitting on, Dipper pulled out his ligther and held the rocket high the air.

Firing it up, the rocket flew into the sky, burning a little of his hand in the process. Exactly when a zombie crawled at his feet, the firework exploded spreading around the area what zombies hated most. A green thing was leaking out of their heads, and Tate realised in awe it were their brains melting away. One by one, the undead dropped down dead again. Old Man McGucket finally noticed he was no longer the center of the attention and looked to see which witch took it away this time.

What he saw, instead of a boy standing up proud with his red checkered shirt and his pine tree hate, was a man holding almost the same face, with glasses and a determined look on his face. He saw Stanford.


	52. Chapter 52

While all the madness was spreading around the town, one completely unaware Stan Pines was deep down in the basement, in the underground laboratory, spending his time looking proudly at the portal with fists on his hips. "So many years and it's all let up to this. My greatest achievement!" he spoke to himself. Stan paused and looked down. "Probably should've worn pants." he muttered as the machine spouts out some fire, which hits Stan in the shoulder. He pats himself on his shoulder quickly to get rid of the fire before it causes any important damage. "Feisty, I like it. Just like Carla in bed." Ah, those were the good times. Leaving the portal's side, he starts flipping the switches and taking a look at the readouts. Stan's pride grew even bigger along with his grin.

"If I manage to pull this off, it'll all have been worth it." he says without tearing his eyes off the paper "After fifteen years I can finally reunite our family. You're gonna be proud of me Poindexter, just wait till I throw the boy in your face. The only things I've got left to get are the other two journals, but once my hands are on them... we're gonna start this babe here. And it'll be a total blow." The backwards counting is finally coming to an end. After all, the deal with Bill was to never tell any living soul about his nephew's parentage or his brother's existence. The deal won't breach if Stanford comes out through the portal and Dipper happens to be there at the moment... okay, there are _three_ things he needs to make this plan a huge success. The other two journals, plus Stanford and his son in the same place at the same time. How hard can it be anyway?

* * *

"Get away from me! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Fiddleford screamed crawling as far from Dipper as he could, waving his hands in a crazy rhythm. "You were supposed to be dead! I ran over you with my car!" He breathed out hyperventilating. Wendy was confused and shocked, for God's sake, at her age she shouldn't know so many things. Pacifica took Dipper's hand and gave it a worried squeeze. "You are dead! You are dead to me and to everyone else!"

Tate went to his father's side and firmly grabbed his shoulders "Dad... look at me." he says snapping away his father's attention, all to himself. Tate thought he's having another moment of his usual periodic insane never-happened-before scenes of people and places that don't exist or existed in the ancient times. How could the boy know about the car accident his father had when he ran over his partner's twin, believing to this day it was his real partner, even though the whole thing was a complete mistake and the man already disappeared into the portal for a little over a year?

With shaking hands, McGucket hugged his son tightly with tears streaming down on his face, eaten away by guilt, reliving some his most traumatic moments. "I killed him. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." McGucket repeated all over again these words in his son's shoulders, the words coming out muffled, but loud enough and well understood by the others. Dipper was standing a few steps away entirely mortified. He knew the old man had a neuron in minus, but to react this way after they have seen each other more than once...

"You..." he spoke with such a cold voice. Wendy looked in his direction hearing him speak up and she felt a shiver run down her spine. "Who did you kill?" Fiddleford looked at him, and he cried more. A statue of ice could not compare with the way Dipper was at the moment. Their eyes met again. And Fiddleford jumped to his feet throwing himself to the young boy gripping hard his blouse, knocking down his Pine Tree hat in the process.

"For fifteen years you've been hunting me!" Fiddleford screamed in the other's face, being filled with rage and sorrow. "You need to STOP! Let me live my life! I'm sorry you lost your son, I'm sorry I never came to see how you're doing, and I'm sorry the portal never worked. But you ruined my life, our lives! It has to stop."

Dipper merely raised an eye brow before brushing McGucket off himself. "I don't know who are you talking about." He said firmly "My name is Dipper." If he was aware of his too tight grip on Fiddleford's hands he did nothing to stop it. He can not deal with this now, his brains making too many connections and theories at a time, faster than it was possible. Nausea was slightly coming over him as he asked, paling a little. "Did you kill someone related to me? Who was it?"

"P...i... ...e..■" the old man muttered in a pained voice. He looked at Dipper with such sad eyes. For a moment the young boy wondered if he was supposed to be dead or something.

"What?" The boy asked. McGucket seemed to have no intention of repeating that. The boy tried again. "I have no name. And no family." He said pressing the main words. He shivered with anticipation... does he have a family? Does he have a father, an uncle, or a cousin? How hard he tried to cut that tie away, to convince himself he is all alone in the world. But fate always threw stuff like this in his face making him believe again.

"Dipper is your son!" Fiddleford screamed, nearly going more insane than he was already. He believed with all his heart that he was facing and speaking with Stanford Filbrick Pines. He was lost in the beginning of the year 2001. "You love him more than anything and anyone else. I'm sorry you lost him, but he's gone. It's time to move on!" One good thing was that he finally had the chance to say the things he wasn't able to say before.

"And what is my name?" The young boy pressed, playing the supposedly dead father "Tell me what is my name!" Dipper hissed unable to wait for the answer to come.

"Dipper... please." Tate begged, going to his friend's side, overly worried that his father might have a stroke if he keeps going on like this. Just the way he is, Tate is not ready yet to lose his dad. "Let it go. We'll talk about this later. I swear there is a logical explication for this." He wanted nothing more than to go home and forget everything that happened today.

Dipper held his gaze for a while, looking at him dead in the eye. "Okay..." he muttered after a long moment of silence. McGucket is crazy. He always says random stupid things. This is just another one of his moments. Dipper never wished so hard in his life to be caught by the zombies and be eaten alive more than he did now. He closed his eyes and promised himself one thing. Once this all mess is over, he will leave Gravity Falls and he'll never come back.

"Here's the journal... I think you might still need it." Tate mumbled handing it over. The moment McGucket laid his eyes on the six fingered golden hand, he fainted on spot.

* * *

By the time Aoshima and her babies finished off the zombies, Mabel safely reached the Mystery Shack. "Candy! Grenda!" She shouted, after spotting her friends, running up to them. "What are you guys doing here? You're in danger, you have to go!" Aoshima remained in the forest to clean up whichever the place these guys came from. And the hatchlings followed their mother, because..., well, they're momma's boys.

"We know that already." Candy said "We came here to see if you're alright." and Grenda nodded at her words as a silent agreement.

Mabel studied her girl friends for a second, and tilted her head. "You do realise this is probably the apocalypse and we might not make it out alive if we don't find a solution fast, right? On the other side of the clock, you girls are the best friends anyone could ever have! Aaaaand totally crazy..."

"We know that too." Grenda said with a big smile on her face. Then her smile dropped and pointed behind Mabel shouting loudly "Watch out!" The message was received, and Mabel immediately turned around and kicked the zombie lifting her leg in the air, ripping the head from the body. Candy quickly kicked it away.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"I'm a professional gymnast! It's basically the same as being expert on martial arts."

"There are more coming right up to us!" Candy warned them. The girls watched how more and more zombies were dragging their bodies towards them. Along with a half zombie Soos, who was now their leader.

"Look at me!" Soos laughed "I'm the smartest guy from all of them, and they made me the leader. Also your brains smell really good." but before he could add anything else, he was hit by the karaoke machine.

Mabel and Candy looked at Grenda, who just shrugged in response. Did it save them? It certainly did! "Quick! We need to go inside the shack and board up all the windows!" The girls rush inside and start to pile things in front of the door, blocking it. The zombies press against the door trying to break through.

"Okay, maybe that'll hold them enough time for us to find another plan." Candy says while they back away and instantly the window crashes open, Soos leans in.

"Hey gals! By the way, I taught the zombies how to get into the fuse box. The light should go off about..." The Shack lights go out "Now." The zombies start climbing in through the window with Soos cheering for them. The three girls run for the other door, just as another zombie's hand smashes through. They gasp and back into the corner

"Dang it Dipper." Mabel hisses, even if the boy wasn't present at the moment. "Wherever the heck are you now, I hope you found something in the journal about defeating zombies!" then she yells when a zombie grabs her from behind wrapping a skeleton arm around her throat. The zombie opens its mouth and leans in to break her skull and take out the brain when suddenly it is hit by a baseball bat. Its head drops to the ground and a foot steps on, smashing it. The girls looked up to see Stan Pines standing heroically, panting, with his clothes torn apart and his hat gone.

"...Dad?..."


	53. Chapter 53

"YOU THREE! ATTIC! NOW!" seeing no moves from the girls, who stood like statues watching him with jaws dropped, he tried again. "I said, NOW!" Mabel shook her head coming back to reality and got up. Together with Candy and Grenda, she fled upstairs. Stan remained behind to fight the approaching zombies. "All right, you undead jerks, ARE YOU READY TO DIE TWICE?!"

"Hey, guys. Tonight's episode of Gossiping Housewives just ended. Dude, what a cliffhanger. Alive Mike is dead, totally unexpected. What did I miss?" Soos popped up from nowhere, talking to the other undead, which landed him an accidental hit in the back of his head by Stan. He fell down on the floor, and soon after he started snoring softly. Stan and the zombies stared at Soos for a second before retaking their activities from where they left.

"The only wrinkly monster who harasses my girls is me! Take that! And that!" A zombie growls and bites the baseball bat in half, only to be punched by Stan's brass-knuckle-wearing fists "Just because I ain't letting my baby date humans, that doesn't mean I'll let any of you get near her! ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!" He continues bashing zombies, then backs up the stairs as more enter from the front door. At the top of the stairs, he pushes over a grandfather clock with a grunt, sending it tumbling into the horde of zombies. And he smiled, because he always hated that thing. And now it's gone.

* * *

"Come on! We've got to help Mabel." Dipper ran with Pacifica and Wendy having as destination the Mystery Shack "If my calculus are right then all the zombies must be around the Shack, or wherever Mabel is. If she isn't there, then we check if Stan is okay and we go." Noticing a man backing into a wall under the threat of an undead, Dipper quickly used the grappling hook and blew its head. "Are you alright sir?" he said, rushing to the man's side, offering his hand to help him up "Man, I hope I got to you in time."

"Yes, you came right in time." The man answered him, taking his hand and getting up, finally looking at the boy's face. "What's your name, son?" he asked after a quite awkward silent. "I want to thank you properly for saving my life."

"I'm Dipper." He replied putting the weapon back, feeling strange at how intense this man was staring at him. "Uh. I've got to go now, but we can meet Sunday at Gravity Falls's High School gym. I'll be there. Stay safe, sir." Then he took off with the girls following close behind. Kyle smiled to himself. Who knew putting his own person in danger will lead him to the boy he desperately wanted to find? One thing one was clear. His brother will finally be avenged and justice will finally be served.

* * *

The girls run into Mabel's room and slam the door. They back away as something starts breaking in. The door opens to reveal Stan, who coughs and clutches his side."Oh! Ow. Everything hurts." Next time zombies attack, he won't be intervening again. He turns and closes the door, barricading it with a chair. "Come on, help me out here, girls! I know I'm very pleasant to the eye, I totally agree with ya, but I like myself more as a human than one of them!"

"Dad, that was like totally amazing!" Mabel exclaimed running up to him, saying the 'amazing' in a high pitched sing song voice "Are you alright, old man?" she laughed slapping his shoulder, which actually brought him more pain. "Heh heh, well, at least you can't deny magic exists anymore, right?" Not that she ever tried too hard to convince him in the first place, that's more like Dipper's department.

With a heavy sigh, he turned away, checked the door to be barricaded enough, and he finally told the truth. "Kids, I've always known."

"O!"

"M!"

"G!" Candy, Grenda, and Mabel gasped together. Candy was the first one to recover from the shock created by the sudden confession and she pointed an accusatory finger at Stan, with an angry expression on her face. "You've been lying to your own daughter ever since summer began?! You pretended you didn't know when you knew the whole time! How could you?"

Grenda crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head "Not cool man, not cool."

Stan groaned and faced the girls. "I'm not an idiot, okay?" He snapped "Of course this town is weird! And the one thing I know about that weirdness, is that it's very dangerous!" A zombie's hand breaks through the door. Candy screams in fear and hides behind Grenda. The group backs into the center of the room "I've been lying about it to try to keep you away from it, Mabel. To try to protect you from it!" A zombie broke through the window. Stan punched it and watched it fall to the ground. "It looks like I didn't lie well enough."

"Candy's right..." Mabel muttered, narrowing her eyes at her dad an awfully big disappointment swimming inside them. "How could you?" she asked on a louder tone than the first one. "I thought you trusted me, but as it turns out I've been the one you trusted least since you never bothered to tell me or have the guts to confirm it at least. You did it now only because we're about to die!"

"Have this fight later! In the Shack and still alive, not dead and up in heaven." Candy cried, terrified about the idea of the zombies breaking their skulls and eating their brains. She didn't want that to happen to her, neither does she want to end up being one of them. Especially if it meant to speak like they do. And smell like they do.

"Tch, like I'd ever end up there. At this rate, my seat next to Soos's grandfather is already marked with a permanent ink." Came Stan's snarky comment as a reply.

"Argh! What do we do, what do we do?" Grenda kept asking, while pacing across the room, creating perfect shaped circles, holding her head between her hands. Candy jumped to hide behind Stan now that Grenda was unavailable and Mabel was too far in distance.

Mabel sighed, realizing the conflict can wait until their lives are no longer under zombie threat, and she pulled out the journal. She started flipping through the pages looking for a solution... or any solution. "Well, normally the journal would help us out, but there's nothing in here about defeating zombies! This is hopeless, guys!" with a groan of frustration, and a beaten cry, she shut her eyes and threw the journal. It hit her musical box, and it fell on the floor, while the box opened and a mini Nicki Minaj in pink bikini and nothing else began spinning around singing 'Anaconda' with rays of colorful light shining around.

Stan's eyes went wide, and he breathed deeply trying not to act too much out of character. It was nearly impossible in the moment when he noticed she had in her possession one of the two things he has been looking for over a decade. His brother's journal. "Sweetie... where did you get that?" his eyes seemed to remain glued on the golden hand with six fingers and the number _3_ in the middle. All this time... it was right under his nose?

"It's not mine." Mabel hisses going over to pick it up. "It's Dipper's! He is the one who knows it better! And he's not _her_ e!" Hearing that, Stan's heart clutched inside his chest, a long time lost feeling of sorrow brings back memories of his twin... and now the boy is following his dad's steps. The two of them are so close, yet so apart it hurts. It hurts not to be able to do anything while two separated people are unknowingly looking for each other. And that feeling passes as soon as he starts thinking about the giant burger he'll have if they manage to get out alive.

"Honey, if we don't survive this zombie attack, then there's something that I need to tell you." Bill said to never tell them. But he didn't mention if life threatening situations are included. "Dipper is-"

"What the heck?" Mabel exclaims, covering her dad's voice, after she picks the journal up.

"What's wrong?" Candy asks, poking her head from Stan's back. If anything were to happen, everyone knows zombies like the old people more than the younger ones. And Stan would be an incredible bait, which will also give the girls enough time to run away.

"The writing... It's glowing in the black light!" The group of three approaches Mabel as she flips quickly through the journal, with Candy, Grenda, and Grunkle Stan watching her moves, stoned. The pages are all covered with previously hidden notes and realization hits Mabel. "All this time Dipper and I thought we cracked up all the journal's secrets, but they're written in some kind of... invisible ink!"


	54. Chapter 54

**_Alright guys... I know it has been a long time since I have posted a chapter... a very long time. To tell you the truth, I've... kinda lost interest in this story, but it's a work that I've put a lot of my heart and soul into, back when I was interested. So... I'm very undecided on what to do next with this story, because it already reached its middle and I think I'd be a kind of a jerk if I deleted it now. So, here it is... for those who waited so long for an update._**

* * *

"Alright guys!" Dipper shouted, bursting the door open with his leg entering with Pacifica and Wendy standing confidently on his left and right side. "Rescue team is here, apologies for the lateness of our arrival, but the traffic- he paused to kick one zombie away, who stumbled and fell down giving Dipper enough time to step on its head and crush its brain- was infernal." His greatest solace at the moment was to know that Mabel (the others too) was fine. Probably mentally scarred, but nonetheless, fine.

"Look, Dipper. While talking to these guys, I learned their tongue." Very excited to show him, Mabel turned to one undead and smiled at him while speaking every bunch of incoherent and nonexisting words and sounds that crossed her mind in that moment mimicking them as if she was trying to do a tribal dance (the ones around the fire). "And that my friends, means _look down_." She said with pride after she finished. The seven still human beings looked down all at once to see the floor cracking under their feet. And a moment later, they fell back into the living room along with the undead still present in the room.

"My TV!" Stan cried, being the first one to get up, starting to punch zombies around like mad. Even angrier than that time Mabel taped all the current existing seasons of my little pony over all of his wrestling matches. "Stay away from my TV, you brainless decomposed corpses." Dipper looked at Mabel and he sighed in relief. No mental scars for her. "It's one of my only two reasons to live!"

"Really?" Pacifica asked, getting up too, dusting herself off. God, does someone ever clean this place? "And what's the other one?" She asked ironically, not really wanting to know the answer. Mabel's face brightened in anticipation knowing her dad's answer was going to be _'My little free spirit daughter, Mabel Olivia Pines.'_ as it used to be every time he bragged about her to someone in this town. And he bragged about her a lot. Especially when she was young. Okay... he wasn't saying **exactly** those words, but something that went along with them.

"My secret safe with money, and magazines with hot ladies." Stan replied, looking at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "But let's all forget about the last part I said. What do you say?" Everyone nodded solemnly in agreement. Including the undead. Mabel crossed her arms and gave him a dirty look. No more random 'You have the best daughter in the world' cards for Stan Pines. No more. Turning to Dipper, one of the best people to complain at, she saw a change on his face, one she hadn't seen in quite a long time. Like, more than four days.

" ** _HEAVY IS THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE FEZ."_** He muttered, the corners of his mouth both twitching up, the same insanely wide smile that appeared last time something similar to this happened, threatening to do the same again. Just like the last time, his brown iris was swallowed into the pupils. The area of his eyes that was supposed to be white turned yellow, and his pupils turned into two long black slits. By the time she blinked and shook her head, he was back to normal. Did she eat again some of her hidden packages of Smile Dip? Possibly... they're so sweetly addictive.

"Dipper..." Apparently, she was the only one that noticed/heard him because when she looked around, everyone was busy doing anything to save themselves from becoming inhuman. He snapped his fingers in front of her face, seeing her mind was elsewhere. She quickly pointed behind him. "That zombie just swallowed the phosphorescent ice I secretly planned to give my dad to see if his stomach will glow in the dark, look!"

"Tch, that did not happen." He chuckled, although the chances were high it actually happened. Unaware of a zombie approaching him from behind, Mabel took the matter in her own hands. She stood up and spun around holding one leg out, breaking the zombie's head from the rest of the body. The head landed somewhere close to the TV or behind it, while the body fell backwards. "Thanks, love." He accepted the offered hand and stood as well.

Mabel gave him a sweet smile and a wink. "Thank me later at Susan's by paying the bill. Come on now, let's go get your journal." she's been craving some of her pancakes for a while and she's been missing Susan and her weird wise sayings. Mabel began pushing him through the crowded place, which wasn't too easy since he wasn't doing any effort to move. "I guess I can't persuade you to do the after cleaning for me, huh?"

He was still trying to process what he just heard. "You have it?" His face brightened up, happy and relieved that he hadn't lost what is for him the most precious thing. "You have it!" It was as if a burden on his heart was suddenly lifted up after being there for a long time. "I'm so happy I didn't lose it. We can finally put an end to this, because beating all of them up would've taken us a great deal time... Where is it?"

"...Upstairs..."

Dipper sighed, or maybe groaned? He didn't know. Of course it couldn't be like two steps on the left. Of course it must be upstairs where the floor is now inexistent and to reach the stairs they must pass through these foaming undead... who would've thought that coming back to life will also bring back the hunger from every day spent dead? Turning to his beautiful girlfriend... ex-girlfriend? He didn't know. He caught her attention with a sharp and short whistle, as he used to do before when she was sneaking out of her house to see him.

"You'll be alright by yourself?" as a response, Pacifica punched one zombie in the ribs which caused it to fall apart and began to beat the other zombies around her with the bone rib that remained in her hand. "She'll be fine." he replied to his own asked question with a dumb smile on his face. Despite the situation, Mabel couldn't help but squeal in excitement behind Dipper. Her ship has sailed, sunk, and now it's back on track!

"Just go already!" While beating up with Stan the army in the living room, Wendy found time to kick the teenagers too and make them move at once. On their way, they passed by the zombie Mabel mentioned earlier. Indeed, the undead's abdomen (or what remained of it) was glowing like a blue northern light giving the room a kind of a party's atmosphere. "Well, all he's missing right now is that old song playing in the background... Shooting Stars was it?" Dipper wondered out loud.

"There are no Shooting Stars tonight." Stan's daughter was fighting her way upstairs, while the boy that could be mistaken as her twin was only following the path she was cleaning. "Only rising stars. One rising star, to be more precise, and that would be _me."_ her final word was highlighted by a perfectly thrown punch. Mabel was fighting the zombies as if they were in a boxing ring and they were all her opponents. "By the way, I discovered something really spooky and really cool about your journal a few moments before you showed up."

"Really?" Dipper's eyes widened and his face brightened just like a child's face in a candy shop. "Man, that journal keeps getting cooler and cooler. I'm making it official. I won't allow myself to die before I find out who wrote it, and personally meet the guy." With the speed of a ninja, he turned around and grabbed the zombie that was trying to attack him from behind, throwing the body over the stairs. "How long until we reach the attic?" They remained in this formation. Mabel was cleaning the path forward, while Dipper was watching their backs.

"Aaaaand." the nearest things to her was an old lamp sitting on a night stand, and a painting on the wall. The last zombie standing right in the doorway between them and the children's destination probably would've never foreseen the night stand being thrown in its way even if it were to be still alive. "We're here." Mabel declared happily. She and Dipper grinned at each other and bumped their fists. Oh yes, they make a great team. "Who knows even? The author might turn out to be a cool guy. I bet if you asked him nicely he'd show you a thing or two from all the magical stuff in Gravity Falls."

"Stop making me squeal internally by imagining how awesome would that be." Going back to what they had to do, receiving the journal turned out to be a harder job than expected. All because of the huge hole in the floor that took to the living room almost the entire furniture that were in the attic. Excepting the journal. Which seemed pretty impossible to get now. But not to Mabel and her gymnast abilities. Doing a front flip towards the left wall, she outstretched her leg so one would touch a piece of the remaining floor and the other would bend so the knee would reach her chest on the wall giving her the second of support she needed to continue.

Using the leg pressed against the wall, she pushed herself and did a back flip this time landing on another part that remained intact from the floor. Her palms touched the wood and her extended into the air, her feet 'kissing' the wall. She lifted one hand to grab the journal, which was not too close neither too far from her and she tossed it to Dipper. "I don't think I can exactly do this again backwards." Dipper didn't think that she could either. "Try to use anything useful that comes into your mind. The writing glows in the dark, the author used invisible ink to write over the pages."


	55. Chapter 55

**_A/N: Any other MJ fans out there? I was going to use the lyrics too, but they were making the chapter too long because I was also going to describe what they were doing as the song went on... I feel ashamed._**

* * *

"What... did you just say?" Quickly he starts flipping through the journal, Mabel does a backflip from a backflip position and lands back in the living room. He remembered of a small laser black light he usually has with him because Thompson adores cats, and he brings to the Junkyard as many as he finds, and sometimes Dipper likes to play with them too. The pages are covered with previously hidden notes, never seen before by the teenager. "All this time I thought I knew all the journal's secrets, but they were written in invisible ink all along?!" He didn't know if he should be happy with the new discovery or angry with himself for being so stupid and not realise this earlier.

"Hey, dork!" Mabel yelled up to him. "Found anything useful? I know you can hear me even if I speak normally, but I love yelling!" the last part she yelled it at her loudest. A zombie grabbed her leg and was ready to bite, but its brains were spilled on the floor after the head met Stan's punch. "I could've taken him with my other foot you know?" Stan gave her a look and crossed his arms, and he let another zombie crawl on his leg. Mabel narrowed her eyes and grabbed his shoulders to lift herself up (damn that man being so tall and her teenage height so short) crushing its head like Stan did with the punch.

"It was okay." Stan said, but underneath he was impressed. "But you're forgetting I am a former boxer." and he turned to throw another punch in one undead's ribs making it crash on the floor in a pile of bones to demonstrate he was not as rusty as he seemed sometimes to be. He was just too lazy to do some certain stuff and blamed it on the age. "Which is proof that I can take out way more than you, kiddo. That's what being only half me does to you."

Mabel narrowed her eyes at him, and then she smiled putting her hands on her hips. This is going to be fun. "Alright then you local boxing champion. I believe I can take out more than you in a." And she snapped her fingers in his face to make a point. "And to be more interesting, let's turn this a competition... if you're age still allows you to move so much." Oh yeah, the last line should do the trick.

Stan would've gladly ignored all the comments and pretended that he was listening. He has done it with Carla for nearly twenty years. But when the age mocking reached his ears, he was settled. "You're on." The conman accepted. "And if I win, you have to wear the _'Loser'_ shirt all summer." It is white and written in big bald black letters. Mabel asked herself for how long did her dad have it? Then Stan and her narrowed their eyes at the other and shook hands.

While all these things were going on downstairs, upstairs Dipper was looking through the journal for a solution. "This is it!" He cried happily, reading out loud for himself. " _Zombies have a weakness! Previously thought to be invincible, their skulls can be shattered by a perfect three part harmony._.. Three part harmony, how can we create that?" he wondered rubbing his chin thoughtfully, turning the black laser light on and off continuously. "I have a naturally high-pitched scream, but I don't really see how that's going to help us. Man... what a cool looking bunker. Definitely checking that one out when this zombie apocalypse thing is over."

"Girls!" Stan turned to Candy, Grenda, Pacifica, and Wendy with a maniac's grin despite being totally outnumbered and totally at lost. "Go outside, I have some hidden fireworks under the mat which is actually a trap door. It's time to light this party up." The girls cheered in delight and ran outside without needing to tell them twice. Teenagers love to do two things, be lazy, and destroy stuff without being punished for it.

"Again with the treasure?" Dipper muttered to himself. Flipping through the pages, he discovered that two of them were glued together. After he broke them apart carefully, not to ruin or rip anything, his eyes widened at the two pages. One was dedicated entirely to Bill. One had barely any readable writing, and it was consisting of a lost treasure. _I have been tricked. I have made a deal with the devil, and now the devil is going after what's most precious to me. No. He was after my treasure from the beginning... I was a complete fool to trust him._ _And now, other people are paying for my mistakes._

Closing the journal, holding a firm grip on it, Dipper jumped through the hole made into the floor very much alike the one in the abandoned church, landing back in the living room. "Mabel, I think I have a solution." he shouted, running to her side. "There is only one thing left to do since we've already turned this into an early Halloween holiday." He just has to convince Mabel to convince Stan to do it.

"In Gravity Falls, we call that Summerween. You know?" Stan says. Dipper and Mabel shared a confused look, then turn to look at him with dumb faces. "It's just like Halloween, ... but during summer." Twin blinks. No words, but Mabel tilts her head to the side. "It's not that hard actually, Halloween and Summer... Summerween." Still staring. In silence. "Okay, you can stop doing that... it's, it's getting creepy... What's your grand idea genius?"

"Michael Jackson thriller dance party!" Mabel shouted with excitement, throwing her arms in the air.

"I was going to suggest the three of us doing a song together that nobody has ever heard of and sounds way too unreal to be a song, but... once the King of Pop is mentioned, then we must dance too." It's a given. And without even looking he raised his fist, punching backwards a zombie in the face before either Stan or Mabel could kill it to get into the top. So far it's an equal score. "It's a given. Hit it Soos!"

"Alright!" Zombie Soos cheered "Get ready to raise the dead dudes! Hehe, got it?" Laughing at his own joke, he began to set up the dj kit. "And mister Pines asked me why do I carry this stupid thing around, hehe, I knew that this day will come!" It didn't take long, and soon it was connected to some speakers Mabel had (just as Soos, knowing that one day they'd come in handy). Although, she thought she'd be using them first on her sweet sixteen to blow up the roof instead of blowing up zombies.

A small screech baby like is heard and everyone present in the room turns their heads towards the sound. Did the zombies brought friends? No. Mabel smiled at the baby fire breathing pterodactyl. Drogon ( ** _A/N: Yes, GoT reference.)_** must've followed her after she left Aoshima and the children, and he must've flown inside through a broken window. Dipper knew then... Mabel has named them well.

Drogon the black pterodactyl the most daring out of the three of them, the strongest, and definitely the easiest to anger. Wyvern was the red one, the fastest between his brothers and himself, probably the most tactical. And finally there was Nix, the baby dinosaur with golden skin, he is the smallest, but his fire seems to do the most damage. He was the sweetest, the easiest to attach to humans, immediately warming up to Dipper as well flying onto his shoulder and nuzzling affectionately into his face.

Drogon proved to be the best distraction for everyone to get out, Mabel realised. That's why when he flew to her, she merely muttered the word 'fire' and he began to burn as many zombies as his small mouth could produce enough black fire for. Stan didn't know if he should be proud or scared, so he chose to ignore. "I am the Queen of the Stonemen. And I have four fire breathing pterodactyls." Mabel explained cheerfully, before growing serious. "Makes you want to think twice before you'll ever ground me again, doesn't it?"

Stan looked at her and put his fists on his hips, ducking as the hatchling flew above him still burning the undead. "You're threatening me because you know you're the one who holds more power." He argued, looking pissed off "How dare you do the exact same thing I'd do if I were in your place?" That was simply outrageous! "By the way, whatever your little monster is burning counts for him not for you."

When Thriller's beat came on, everyone stopped at once and listened to it. Even after the girls outside blew up most of the zombies, a large number still remained to be beaten. The girls and even some undead, including the turned Robbie, began fangirling worse than the moments when Sev'ral Timez is mentioned. "My grandmother fangirled to death when she stepped once exactly where Michael did!" Candy squealed. "Just thinking about him makes me feel... aaahhh I'm following you in the grave nana!"

"Just thinking about him makes me want to do all the stuff I am not supposed to do yet!" Wendy yelled in an unusual high pitched voice. Her father, Manly Dan, has all the albums the King of Pop ever released. And he was proud to say all of his children are moonwalkers. You can only imagine the reaction that man would have if he ever met Michael in person. Once a moonwalker, always a moonwalker. Disgraced be the families and the people who do not see MJ as the one true King of Pop.

"Think you can keep up with the dance?" Mabel teased her dad once they were safely outside the Shack, Thriller's music reaching it's golden moment. Ah, who are we trying to fool? Every moment of that man's songs is golden!

Stan grinned pointing at himself with his thumb. "I was born dancing those moves. I was dancing those moves before I learned how to walk. I was dancing those moves when-"

"Let's thriller this night!" Dipper howled into the night like a wolf to the moon and signaling the chorus was close. Everyone got in line and began to do the elaborated dance number that remained in the history along with the song. Once they began to sing the chorus all of them together (instead of just three), zombie heads began to explode one by one, the dynamic of the song being too much to bear for some of them. Some of them were just hardcore fans of Prince who couldn't stand hearing MJ's music.

"We should get going. We'll drop Wendy at home too." Grenda said with a giant smile. "Same time next friday?"

"Hell yeah!"

"I'll be forever haunted." Candy cried with her arms in the air, smiling harder than Grenda.

Stan's stomach dropped. "My TV! I swear I'll kill the zombies if they did anything to my TV!" And he ran inside the Shack. And so, Dipper and Pacifica were the only people left outside, excluding the zombie mess around them with weird liquid pouring out of their heads. Dipper greeted her awkwardly.

"Hey." She replied to him, trying not to hope for anything more than a simple 'thanks' from him. One, because he's a nerd, it's an unwritten law that nerds are terrible with girls. Terrible with anything that's socially related actually. Two, because of everything that happened between them. "Your moves are still nice." Scratch that, he's still incredible... Not that she'd ever admit it anyway, especially not to his face. Or to anyone who could tell him.

"Pacifica..." he began, unsure at first what to say, then surprised not only her, but himself as well with his honesty. "I'm so sorry for the way I acted with you. I shouldn't have treated you like I did. Nobody knows what you're going through, not even me. I didn't carry the baby, you did. I should've been there for you instead of abandoning you, I should've..." He paused and gave a tired sigh running his hand over his face. "I should've done a lot of things I didn't do." And then he gave a bitter laugh. "We have a pretty dysfunctional relationship, don't we?"

"That's probably the nicest way to call it." Pacifica said as an unsaid agreement to his statement. So far, their relationship has been anything but normal or functional. Their differences played a big part too. "I should have listened to you in that night, I shouldn't have went to see my parents." Who knew admitting you were wrong could hurt someone's throat so much? It was a long silence between them before she spoke again, looking at him in the eye. "But I'm willing to give us another try, if so are you."

"My fault in this is equal." Dipper shook his head having none of it. "I shouldn't have gotten you pregnant in the first place." Moving closer, a light smile was visible on his face. Brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, resting their foreheads together, he spoke quietly, as if everyone could hear them if they were any louder. "If we give us another try, then who knows? Maybe in a few years, when we're married and have a stable home with well paid jobs... we could try again for a baby." He gave her a soft and sincere kiss. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"I... love you too." they both smiled and laughed briefly in relief. Who knew dealing with your feelings and expressing them could actually be this hard and exhausting? "Come on now, we have to tell Mabel the good news. I bet she's going to blow through the roof."

"I'll be back in a minute love, don't want to miss it for the world." He told her with a light laugh, taking her hands in his. "I just need to check if there are any remaining zombies around the area."

"Don't take too long." Pacifica replied giving him a peck on the lips. "Otherwise you sleep outside tonight." Without waiting for another smart retort from him, she turned around heading towards the Mystery Shack.

Dipper shook his head with a soft smile and turned as well. His eyes fell on a friendly looking face "Oh, hey there-"

It happened in a split of second. All Pacifica heard was a ear-blowing sound of a gun that didn't last for more than a moment, as long as a blink of eye. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and a sudden coldness filled her body. She shuddered. For a moment she was too scared to move. Reluctantly her body and brain betrayed her choice and she turned around.

Dipper turned as well. But it used all the power he had left in his body. A ghost hand, that happened to be his, rose to his chest. He felt the wetness of his own blood through his shirt, no pain, no hurt. Only numbness. He opened his mouth as if to say some last words... but they never reach past his thought to say them out loud. His legs gave up on him just when Mabel rushed outside to see what happened.

With his hand on his chest, Dipper fell forward, his vision completely blacked out.


	56. Chapter 56

"I don't understand..." Mabel spoken quietly a grim look on her once way too happy for normal standards face. "Who could have done this?" Ever since she was little, she knew she hated hospitals. So many people suffering gathered in one place... so many cries for help and so many cries of loss. Mabel has heard more prayers in the hospital than she ever did in the church. After her accident she knew she hated them. And now, she was depending on one entirely...

The room she was sitting in had the walls painted in bright blue. Nice orange curtains where you could just look out through the window all day and all night if you truly had nothing else better to do. It had little furniture, but the numerous machines inside the room made up for it. If the colors were not bright blue or orange, then certainly white. Beside the white bed in the room with pure white sheets there were just two other white chairs on each side of the bed. One that was occupied by Mabel and one that was currently occupied by Pacifica.

"I don't know..." The blonde replied with a slight shake of head, hugging her knees to her chest. For one second. She turned away for just one second, how was that possible? After that she had seen Dipper touching his chest, and a small stain that turned bigger and bigger before he fell in her arms. Stan and Mabel and a normal Soos came outside after hearing the commotion. An ambulance was called and she had seen how they began to CPR him as best as they could before they declared that his body was unresponsive...

On the way to the hospital they took out some things, which the author of this story doesn't know their name, set it on the boy's skin and began to sent electroshocks through his body, checking the special computer for any progress. They say now that the worst has passed. She would like to believe so, but somehow she doubts that. Her sadness and sorrow did not match her anger however. "But I am going to find out." A look of determination crossed her face. "And I'm going to make them pay."

* * *

After the whole horror that took place with the zombies, the kid gets shot mysteriously and Stan's pretty sure he lost his show for good... now he will never know how did Elizabeth react when she heard about the engagement... For God's sake, hasn't this kid been through enough already?... Ever since the shot, a memory buried in his mind for over fifteen years kept playing in his head over and over again.

 _Ford felt a ball of paper hitting his forehead and that's when he was snapped out of his intensive thinking. Blinking, to adjust himself back to the reality rather than his mind's current fantasies, he saw his twin brother standing on his bed crumbling another paper in his hands ready to throw a scoring paper again. Stanford quickly jumped out of the chair and snatched it back with a scowl right away. "Stanley! That's my homework for tomorrow's class!"_

 _"Yeah, the homework we are supposed to turn in next week, Poindexter." Stan replied dully with a roll of eyes while his brother was searching for the other page. Where the heck did it go? "What's up with you?" Stan asked, seeing his brother dive under the bed for the paper. "You've been acting weird ever since we left the biology class." The class today was different than the other times. "Truth to be told, it wasn't so bad that a bunch of boys and girls stuck together in a class learning about what's between the other's legs and how they work together..." Stan paused after hearing himself. Ok. It was really was that bad._

 _"It wasn't that." Ford replied setting himself on the chair at the desk, looking out through the window blushing embarrassedly. That part was... horrifying to say the least. Such a detailed class. The first one in his life where Ford wanted it end to end earlier, constantly looking at the clock and counting down the minutes. Whatever parts left of his innocence gone in less than an hour. Seeing that his brother won't leave him alone about this matter, he blurted it out. "It was the part about the babies." And Stan was actually silent for once. Once in such a long time, Ford doesn't even remember the last time Stan was silent. Now, that is something._

 _Stanford sighed and looked down at the floor. "Look Stanley, I know I'm not exactly what one would call a chick magnet." And he paused to put the commas into the air with his fingers. His freak fingers. "But after that class, I couldn't stop thinking about Ma and Pa, Shermie, and the future..." The younger twin wanted to sneak in a comment how his brother has been thinking about the future ever since he could think, but he decided against it in the last moment. "I want to have a baby, Stan. I want to pass my legacy and my intellect on to a being that shares my blood." But who could ever want him in that way? Even if you take out the extra fingers, he's much to awkward to have a small conversation with a girl._

 _"Sixer..." Stan knew his brother was an over thinking machine, but this is much more different than the other times. This time he has to play his cards carefully. "Who knows?" He wasn't that good at sentimental talking anyways... "Hey, if I can sneak outside the house on Pa's watch and come back home before he or Ma realise I'm gone. Then you can certainly mix with one cup, chocolate, vanilla, your choice, and get your ice cream." He felt relieved when he heard his brother chuckle. "What do you want it to be?"_

 _"As long it's a healthy baby inheriting both the mother's and my intellect, I don't mind the gender..." But Ford had a feeling his twin would not be impressed with that answer and his suspicions were confirmed when he heard an annoyed groan. He paused, and taught it over for a second. "A boy." He whispered softly. "I... guess I'd like to have a boy." And he began to smile. "A little brave scientist who will change the world. And what about you, are you planning to stay celibate for the rest of your life?"_

 _Stan rolled on his back on the bed. And looked at his brother from upside down "Hey, I still got a pretty big chance to be with Carla! She just needs to... be persuaded much." Very, very much. "She's going to be my highschool sweetheart, just wait." Hotpants will be the greatest achievement in life! Everyone will be jealous of Stan Pines and his girl. His girl... a girl... "A girl." The words sounded strange. But it's what he realised he wanted. He wants it. And the thought of having one gives a strange thrilling sensation. In a good way._

 _"Huh?"_

 _"If I get to settle down with Carla... or another woman who is just as hot as her." He stared at the bed that was right above him, but he was seeing through it. "I'd like to have a girl." He was imagining how a picture him and Carla and a mixture of them in form of a baby. And he liked it. Quickly shaking his head, he snapped out before he got it too deep. "But with our genes that's pretty much impossible." And, come on now. At his seventeen years of age, he couldn't remember a single time when he got exactly what he wanted._

 _If Ford had dared to hope for a wife and child, then why his brother couldn't do the same? "Stanley, you never know what will happen-" but his twin was quick to cut him off. He even turned to a normal sitting position._

 _"Ma had three brothers, twin older brothers and a younger one. Pa had one as well. All Ma's kids have been boys so far, Shermie's got twins." He punctuated everything by rising his fingers. Two. One. One. Three. "It's a given in our family. Either boy, either twins." He won't allow himself to wish for something he'll probably never get. In the end he will only hurt himself more._

 _"Still, one of Shermie's kids is a girl." Ford pointed out. Their sister-in-law recently gave birth to twins. Boy and girl. Indeed it seems that twins run in the family._

 _"Looks like a boy to me." Stan deadpanned. "I guess if I have a girl, a real one." He made sure to point that out because in the picture he sent, to Stan it seemed like he had two boys instead of one. "I'd break this cycle. A little princess running around in her pink dress dreaming about ponies and shits like that."_

 _Ford cracked up a smile, deciding to amuse himself. "And what if a prince charming catches her eye?"_

 _"I'll snap his neck, and hang the body outside as a warning for everyone else to see."_

Shaking his head again, Stan stopped replaying the memory. It doesn't do any good anyway. He went back working on the portal. After all, Journal 3 was in his hands now. He is getting close to finishing it. He's sure of that. "Just one more... and all I need is just one more journal."

Where in the world could Journal 2 be? In whose hands?

* * *

"Well, this seems to be the place." Tate said closing the map. Dipper's journal mysteriously disappeared so they had to use what they had at hand. The bunker Mabel said Dipper wanted to check out. But after the shooting, he's currently on a break. So Tate decided to ease his job and find the bunker and study it.

Wendy decided to tag along with a now human Robbie. On their way they found Soos who lost himself in the woods after chasing a racoon for taking away his sandwich, so he tagged along too. "Alright dudes. Here we go."


	57. Chapter 57

**_*Continuing The Memory From The Last Chapter With A Part That Stan Has Absolutely No Knowledge Of.*_**

 _"Hmmm interesting..."_

 _"Maureen, for crying out loud, what are you doing?"_

 _She nearly jumped out of her skin. dang that silent bear of a husband she has because she can't sneak a leaf past him without him knowing. "Shhh, Filbrick!" She shushed him, waving her arms at him to go away. "The boys are talking about babies, I'm going to have grandchildren one day." She squealed lowly in overjoy as she pressed again her ear against the door to catch a bit more interesting stuff of her boys' conversation. After all it wasn't everyday she was getting such juicy details. Except for all the times she goes to the saloon where she learns all the hot new gossips in town in a couple of hours._

 _"You already have two of them." Filbrick felt the need to remind her that again. And that she has another son. Ever since Shermie moved out and found himself a place with that woman (one Maureen disliked from the very first sight of her), his wife tended to forget about him and concentrate more on their twins and their lives. She still claims Shermie moved out too soon and rushed things with his wife. Filbrick would've said something about that, but even a man like him knows that his wife's wrath is much more worse than her whining. So he decided to remain silent._

 _"Stanford said he wants to have a boy, and Stanley said he wants a girl." Obviously, she went on without hearing him or pretending she did not hear him. Both solutions are very possible. "Oh my God, finally a girl in the family, my prayers have been heard!" Thanks to her husband's genes she has been blessed only with boys. Now, now, she loved them with all her heart, but sometimes her heart ached for a baby girl too. That's why when the twins were babies she used to dress them with dresses. Which one came at hand at the moment. She still has the pictures, extremely well hidden._

 _"One of Sherman's twins is a girl." Filbrick pointed out. Their eldest found himself a girl, they married, and now they have two kids for the effort of one. Although he had a feeling that his own pair of twins will not throw themselves into marriage too soon... or move out. Where Stanford excelled, he lacked the capability of making coversation with the opposite sex. Where Stanley excelled, he lacked the necessary will to actually keep them for longer than a month._

 _"She looks like a boy to me." Maureen deadpanned, all of her excitement vaporizing in the air as water under the sun. "And while we are having this discussion, go and hide some condoms in your son's clothes or pockets, your choice." If Filbrick would've been drinking coffee right now, he was sure he would've spit it all over the floor. "I wish to be a grandmother, but not while my children are still children." To her, he seemed the perfect person to do the job. If she did that, then her son would know it was her. Now at least she has an excuse to tell the truth and make it seem like a lie_.

* * *

 _ ***Present Time* *Another Dimension***_

"Traveller. What is this place?" Ford sighed. Through the fifteen years he spent coming and going from one dimension to another, if he ever doubted it, now he's certain that his current partner is clearly the most annoying one he ever had. But what could he truly expect? He is just a giant orange mixture of a cat and tiger with black stripes... one that never actually stops talking. And Ford never really liked cats.

"For the umpteenth time." The human said letting his annoyance slip in his tone of voice. "I just came into this dimension with you. How in the world am I supposed to know what is this place?" He was reaching his limits with this one. His one and only purpose that keeps him fighting against every obstacle that is thrown at him, is finding his home dimension and reunite with his son. Bill maybe had managed to destroy the spare portal he had almost successfully built, but his determination did not inch even a bit. He will pass through all the dimensions if he has to!

"Hey, get off!" The cat, as Ford liked to think of his non-human company because he was acting so much like one, snarled at a baby that latched its mouth on the sensitive tail. "Ain't gonna get milk out if you keep sucking! I'm tellin' ya." God, that just sends the wrong message however you try to put it. Stanford hummed, eyeing the area, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. So far this dimension looks like an endless hill with white skies and no clouds or sun. Weather doesn't probably exist here either.

Ford walked past the cat, who now had ten more babies around it and no idea how to survive the baby burial. He shouted for help, "Traveller, lend me a paw. Come on. Don't leave me like this! Traveller!", but Ford just walked past him ignoring completely his partner's whines. "Interesting." He muttered going to study the area. Is... is this a baby dimension? Because everyone here seems to be a baby. Many crawled away when he was taking steps. Probably because to them he is a giant and they never witnessed one before. Or they're just being mean.

"Thanks for the help. You ar' my best friend." The orange cat said sarcastically reaching the genius. Usually that is how things went between them because they have been together for over a year. One would not bother the other, each has one purpose to fulfill and must not stand in the other's way if the chance to have that purpose filled faster is shown. Until now Nargo had no other knowledge of Ford other than that he is a human, also fooled and hated by Bill, and he was looking for someone in his home dimension with a burning passion. "Traveller? You okay there?"

Nargo was seeing only now that the human was stuck, because Ford has not paid any attention to him in the last thirty seconds. Unmoving. Unblinking (The cat checked it too). And he didn't see Bill or any of his pals around... just lots and lots and lots of babies... why Ford's eyes were glued on a specific baby, Nargo had no idea. "Oh my God..." Stanford breathed out as he bolted up from his place and rushed to the said baby.

In the way he said it, so soft compared to what he had seen from him so far, it wasn't a lie to say Nargo wasn't surprised. Because, so far the traveller has not been anything else than strict, serious, and cold. And badass. Badass too. Especially in battles. It was weird to see him all bottled up thanks to a baby he has just laid his eyes on for the first time in his life. _'Humans are so weird. That's why cats should rule the universe.'_

* * *

 _ ***Dipper***_

"What is this place?" Dipper muttered to himself. He was in a dark forest, black trees with black branches and black leaves. A grey cloudless sky. And a piercing silence. "Could this be a Limbo?... or Hell?" A thick fog ate the surroundings, making it impossible to see beyond four meters from a stationary place. "No. Hell is full of pain and suffering. There should be more people here if this was hell..." And he was all alone. "Well. I am not resolving anything if I just stay here." So he began to walk, and he disappeared into the fog.

* * *

 ** _*Back To Another Dimension*_**

Not to scare the baby, when he almost reached him, first he kneeled down. And he looked again at the baby who saw him and smiled, Ford was breathing hard. It felt like he went back in time when his son was just an infant new to the world and he was there with him, willing to protect and guide him until the end of their time together. "Dipper..." the baby seemed to respond to that name because he laughed. Good lord he was looking just like his infant son over a decade and a half ago.

"Hate to be the one who breaks it to ya, but... ya know he ain't real..."

"Just give me a moment." Ford whispered picking the baby and standing up. He hugged baby version of Dipper to his chest and closed his eyes, burying his head in the small being, then he inhaled deeply. God... They smell even the same. He is not real... but he looks so real... It is like reliving the past. The good memories of the past.

He felt something tugging at his pants and he knew it wasn't Larf (he likes to go by Nargo because Larf is such a dumb name, but Stanford won't call him anything else) since Larf like scratching. He still has the marks on his legs. Looking down, he saw the baby version of himself trying to get back his kid. Ford just hmphed like a pimp with his chin in the air, and kicked the other Ford away with his leg, continuing to rock the baby in his arms.

If it wasn't for his quick reaction, this dimension version of Dipper would have been seriously injured. Larf tried to make a surprise attack and jumped suddenly with claws and fangs out at the two, but Ford's instinct was on point, moving away and dodging the attack in the last moment. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Larf glared at the baby in his arms, his fangs not backing down. "This is Cipher's pawn, you brilliant human!" The cat growled, preparing for another attack. "He ain't no good, and that's a fact, so wake up!"

* * *

 ** _*Dipper*_**

The forest seemed to be endless. He passed a broken swing, a destroyed ship, a thing that looked like a fallen star, and an old shop with broken windows a single touch away of going to the ground. Is this where he was going to meet his end? Is this his end?... After another walked mile, when he began considering the giving up option, he saw a figure at the end of a cliff.

By the body shape it was a woman, in a very long and white cloak with a hood over her head, looking down at the black lake under cliff. When he came beside her she turned to look at him. A woman a head taller than him, with a perfect white skin, long blonde curled hair, deep brown eyes, pretty face, cheekbones matching his.

He wouldn't have recognized her at first if he wouldn't have seen the pictures... "You shouldn't have changed your looks, you are prettier when you are natural." The right side of her mouth curled up. "Hi mom. It has been a while since we've last seen each other."

* * *

 ** _A/N: Dipper's mom - Drea de Matteo_**


	58. Chapter 58

Mabel was at the hospital again. This time before visiting Dipper, she went into other people's rooms and stuck on whichever body part she caught at the moment stickers with _'You will get well soon.' 'You will not see the light today.' 'May the Lord praise us with more episodes of Lucifer.'_ Also, she interrupted at least three on-going surgeries to hand over to the doctors and nurses sweaters she knitted herself with ' _You're doing great.' 'No one died today. Hurray!'_ Or her personal favourites _'What's down Doc? A patient!'_ and many other meaningful messages meant to lift up the spirits.

Because this place was in bad need of it. Luckily for them, today, Mabel was on duty! She skipped off to Dipper's hospital room. "Hi." She gave a happy salute to Pacifica and proceeded to more forward and give her a comforting hug when she noticed something different. "Why... are his eyes bandaged? Did something happen?" The last time she had been there, which was two days ago, he had not had his eyes wrapped in a white bandage. Weren't all the tubs and IV's connected to his body already more than enough?

Pacifica ran a hand through her hair and adjusted her position in the chair, feeling her legs going numb after standing still for too long. "The nurses said something weird happened last night, but I couldn't understand much of their babble. They were really crept out. And when they came to check him this morning, his eyes were all red." She pointed to the places with her fingers. "Some blood vessels broke in his eyes, here and here, and the bandage is for the slight external bleeding caused by the internal one."

"Hmm..." Mabel hummed to herself, and she hummed again rubbing her chin thoughtfully louder, and once more even louder than before. "Don't worry, Paz! I'll get to the end of this mystery." She shouted suddenly startling the other girl, nearly making her jump from that chair. "But first of all..." She leaned in towards Dipper and screamed in his ear. Wait for it... wait... wait... Silence. Nope, he did not wake up. "Heh. At least, it was worth the try, right?" Perhaps a louder scream would do the trick?

"What's gotten into you?" She had to stifle a laugh even though technically everything Mabel has been doing since entering the room up until now was wrong. "Why are so..." Pacifica then stopped, and shook her head. "Wait, what am I even asking here?" She asked herself out loud. Clearly she in need of more rest than what she is getting in these days. "This is you." Strange how many people seem to like her for her unique personality? No. Not at all. Mabel's amazing just the way she is.

Mabel slid an arm around Pacifica's shoulders, crushing the girl to her chest. "Well, I used to hear my dad saying this continuously when I was younger." And she gestured with her hands in the air as if the words were written there. _'The happier you are, the richer you are.'_ And then I thought about it and I realised this place could use some positive energy." She looked at Pacifica and her smiled dropped. "You too." Silence. The blonde girl is fuming when the other one shouts suddenly. "Here's a hug outta nowhere!"

"Wah!" Pacifica gasped for air. Boy, what a grip! She breathed relieved when the grip lessened and her lungs were allowed air again. "And not that I want to ruin your childhood memories, but it's the other way around." Mabel looked at her confused. "It's _'The richer you are, the happier you are.'_ Mabel tilted her head to the side, and Pacifica gave her a knowing look. "I'd know better." She lived her whole life until now by that phrase. Her parents too. The bad part is that they still do.

Mabel kept the same smile on her face. "Nope. I don't remember it like that. Be right back." She walked over to Dipper and whispered to him "Hey, do me a favor and try to wake up soon. Okay? I still need you around. You're the best person to put the blame on that I've got, and I'm not ready to let go yet." She turned to Pacifica, now speaking normally. "And you should take care of yourself a bit more because you look like a rainbow having a hangover."

"Pff, I still look better than you." Her face softened, and she actually smiled. "I'll be fine. Go. I'll stay here and watch over him." Mabel nodded and left. Moving the chair closer to his bed, Pacifica glanced at the body before her. More tubes than she could count were stuck on different parts of his skin, many bandage layers were wrapped around his chest, they actually looked like non fluffy blanket and a layer around his eyes too. A breathing mask covered most of his face, for his lungs were not yet able to breathe on their own.

"Oh, baby..." Her palm caressed whatever part of his face was left without any medical kit attached to him. His skin was strangely cold against her fingers. "I know you have a hidden passion for pissing people off, but this is ridiculous. I promised you, I'll find out who did this to you. And I intend to keep that promise." She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Then she left him to rest.

* * *

 _ ***The Night Before***_

Kyle walked inside the hospital with a happy chilling whistle, holding his packed lunch in a brown bag, as if this was just another day of his life at his job. He is a well known doctor, and a friend to everyone who crosses his path. "Hello Tina. How is it going Jack? Beautiful as always Mary!" He greeted everyone whom he met in his way with a dashing smile, and he was greeted back with the same cheerfulness. None of them knew what was truly hiding behind the mask of pure innocence. "What's on my list for today, Justin?"

Justin was his newest assistant with tanned skin, dreaming to become what Kyle already was. He quickly studied the list. "Remember the kid, who got shot a few days ago?" Kyle nodded. He grabbed the coffee cup of whoever happened to be closest to him and took a sip. "Doctor Samuel had to go home for a family funeral and he won't be back until tomorrow, you were named the kid's watcher until Sam returns." Then he put the board away on the table which slid until it fell into the trash. "If you want I can watch him myself."

"No, it's fine. I will do the watch." Kyle waved his hand and then patted his chest imitating the gesture of a monkey when showing dominance and power. "I am in perfect shape." He leaned confidently on the table with his hand. It began to slip, and he lost his balance almost falling down. "What the- ?" Apparently, someone thought it is a funny idea to spread butter on the table making everything that touches it... slippy. With dignity still intact, not really, he walked to the room numbered 508 and made a quiet entrance. Good. The girl was not there.

He walked over to the sleeping boy and pulled out of his coat a sharp kitchen knife. "Alright baby boy, you might have miraculously survived my bullet, but now... there is no one left to protect you. No one left to save you." He approached Dipper and raised the blade into the air. Finally he's going to avenge his brother once and for all. It's too bad his father is not here to witness it. Kyle lost his brother thanks to Stanford Pines. Now, Stanford Pines is going to lose his son thanks to Cole's brother. Oh, the irony...

The blade began to come down, ready to end a life that so many other people fought for to make sure he survives. From the doctors in the hospital assigned to watch him to his friends and family. His wrist felt a sudden pain when a hand snapped up and grabbed it with such force it nearly broke it. The hand kept a tight grip on the wrist and pushed the knife away from the body. Kyle's eyes widened in shock as he realised it was the boy himself who stopped him and not a third presence in the room.

The eye lids opened too, but the ocular globes were not the same. They were yellow with slit pupils, a maniac smile spreading on his face. **_"WHEN ONE GETS TRAPPED INSIDE THE PAST, DREAMS CAN TURN TO NIGHTMARES FAST."_** His voice rang in the whole room and everything inside began to shake. Despite the commotion, no one came running in. He gripped Kyle's wrist even tighter as he had risen from the bed more and more with each spoken word.

Kyle backed away as the boy's grin widened. He looked terrifying to say the least... like... like... a demon. " _ **BLOCKED BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, PINE TREE HAS NO IDEA WHAT'S COMING AHEAD."** _ What? Who the hells is Pine Tree? The human didn't have time to think about that as a scream of pain ripped off his lips, the bones of his wrist being broken completely. A strange force made Kyle open his eyes and look at the golden eyes shining bright with pure insanity.

" _ **ONE DAY WE ARE GOING TO BE ONE! THE REAL FUN HAS YET TO BEGUN!"**_


	59. Chapter 59

_Susan Wentworth, a single woman who maintains a house on her own. She's a recently hired waitress at a nice restaurant, and she's considering adopting a cat. She's... a lonely woman who loves a man. A man whom she knows he would never love her back, but she still hopes. Stanford Pines came into her life by mistake, looking for a shelter to protect his son from one of the most horrible snow storms Gravity Falls had seen in a long while. She welcomed them both in her home, in her life, and in her heart._

 _Stanford was too preoccupied with his baby boy which made her love them even more. Dipper was a sweet baby with the most wonderful toothless smiles, and his father awkward as he was and scientific man, it's what attracts Susan about him. He even introduced her to his old college roommate and together they made quite the trio. Susan knew Fiddleford had a thing for her. She was a woman, women notice these obvious things while men stupidly think they're not obvious, but she had no idea how to let him down easily. So she pretended to not notice. She had only eyes for Stanford, after all._

 _Currently, they were at his house, just the two of them, Stanford will leave soon to meet with Fiddleford in the woods to study another anomaly. He didn't want to harm Dipper in any way bringing him too, and he was grateful when Susan offered to watch him. She was standing in the doorway watching a sweet father-son moment, and she made no sound in fear of disturbing that moment. They were both on the carpet, he was leaning with his back against the yellow chair, Dipper trapped between his chest and pulled up knees._

 _Ford was holding him, so that Dipper was standing on his feet and he smiled as the baby threw his head back and gave a delightful laugh. He liked being able to stand. "Soon my boy. Soon." Ford whispered softly, his six-fingered hands under the small arms just in case Dipper loses his balance. Dipper smiled toothlessly as he grabbed the hem of his father's black T-shirt in his small fist, leaning in and making incorrigible sounds. Ford bowed his head a little so their foreheads touched. "Just don't grow up too fast on me... alright? Stay small for as long as you want. Stay mine forever_."

His eyes opened slowly, Stanford didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he woke up. He shifted, groaning as the blood in his body began to circulate again. His body went numb after staying in the same position for too long. Why had he relieved that memory? And why in the world did he relive it as Susan and not himself? Looking down, baby Dipper of this dimension was sleeping in his arms undisturbed. Wait... all these years ago, McGucket had a crush on Susan? Wait! Susan had a crush on him?!

A loud and evil snarl snapped his attention, his sudden surprise turned to annoyance and he glared at Nargo. "Leave him alone, he has done no wrong to you." _Leave him alone or you'll have to deal with me._ The alien being was smart enough not to mess with those who are obviously more powerful than him. But sometimes, most times, his temper just gets the best out of him. And the worst outcome.

"You blind bloody fool!" Nargo hissed, his claws growing out, startling every baby around him including Ford and the one he was holding. Right now, the intelligent human was not so intelligent. "Can't you see Cipher's trickin' ya to stay put?!" He cried out in pain and stumbled backward, falling on his bottom as a fist collided with his face.

Nargo had no time to recuperate as air suddenly got cut, and his throat was being squeezed. With one arm holding the baby and the other strangling the tiger-cat, with a murderous look in his eyes, Stanford forced Nargo to look at him. "Touch his hair with a single filthy claw and you will join your kind in the afterlife."

* * *

Dipper looked at his mother and tried to find any physical assimilation between them. "I don't like you, do I?" Perhaps the brown eyes, for even the face structure was different. Maybe they weren't even related at all... She touched his cheek and pointed at him. "Me?" She shook her head and pointed again. "My dad?" And she nodded. "You're trying to say I look like my dad?" Another nod.

She picked up from the ground two perfectly shaped dark leaves and held them up, one in each hand. Dipper thought about it for a moment. "Twins, basically?" She nodded again with a proud smile of a mother delighted by her genius son. He was looking at the leaves, but not at her. "You can't talk... can you?" Letting the leaves fall from her hands at her feet, she shook her head. Inside his chest, something was hurting.

"...Is it because of me?" Quickly she grabbed his face and looked at him in the eyes determinedly shaking her head. Letting go of him, she mimicked the slit of a throat. "Your throat was slit and so were your vocal cords?... I don't understand... I thought you died of a sickness! I was told so!" Looking at the ground she did another gesture that could be interpreted as a sigh, then she looked back at him. And then he was falling...

With one move, one forceful push, she made him fall off the cliff and right into the black lake under them. It was worthless to fight the waves that became more violent as he struggled more to fight them. The water filled his lungs and the darkness swallowed him whole as he drowned into the lake. _'Right when we beginning to have a moment...'_

When he woke up again, he was not soaking wet, he was not drowning, he was not dying... in fact, he woke up on land alive and well... technically, practically he was just as a ghost "Mother, you can't make me join your cult! I won't do it!" A version of his mother walked inside the scene, right through him, she looked healthy, beautiful even. Her blonde long curls and dark brown eyes moving smoothly along with her slim body.

"I can and I will!" Her mother walked in after her daughter, the old lady Dipper saw at the funeral was looking now almost twenty years younger. She was fuming with anger. "Your brother did too, and now it is your turn, your destiny! You can not fight what has already been decided for you, Angela!" ' _A series of flashbacks.'_ Dipper thought to himself ' _This is a series of mom's flashbacks and most impacting memories.'_

"You tricked me to build you a bomb." Angela turned and cried towards her mother tears forming in her eyes, guilt eating every part of her soul and heart like a starving wolf who finally found a lamb. "A man died, doesn't this affect you? Even a little bit? Because it's tearing me apart." Whipping the tears away angrily, she shook her head defiantly. "No more. I am quitting your stupid cult, and you can't stop me."

"See sweetheart, that is where you are wrong." Her mother walked up to her and caressed her cheek in what was meant to be seen as a motherly kind gesture. "I can and I will if I have to. Your brilliant mind is a blessing. That man threatened to expose our cult, and our leaders could not stand that... After all, you do not think your father actually died from a stroke, do you?"

A couple of days later, Angela ran away.

* * *

 _Angela, now Alicia due to the name change, touched her stomach while staring at her reflection into the mirror. "I am... pregnant..." The words leaving her mouth were just as strange as thinking them in the first place. There were tears in her eyes. "Oh, baby... what have I done to you? They are going to hunt us both now... maybe even your father..." Putting her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs, she cried her heart out. She had them both condemned for a few minutes of pleasure..._

* * *

 _"I want to have an abortion." I don't want to risk them finding us. "I don't want to have this baby." I can't risk them to find out about you_.

* * *

 _Giving birth was nothing compared to how hard it was watching her love and son leave. After he walked off through that door she knew neither of them was ever going to come back to her. Oh, how she wanted to hold her baby just one more time... how she wanted to kiss him one more time... They know now. They know where she is hiding... it is just a matter of time before they find her._

* * *

" _Give up sweetheart." Her mother spoke softly. Satisfied she finally had the upper hand. "You have nowhere else to run. Now, be a good girl and stand still." Soldiers had her surrounded from every corner. "It is going to hurt you more if you move." Nearly two years had passed before the family was reunited again. "We can't have you tell the police about us."_

 _Pulling out a knife from her belt, a crying Angela de Luca slit her throat so no one could have the honor of taking her life except for herself._

 _"Oh... well, this works too..." The unaffected mother turned to one armed soldier. "If people ever start questioning us about Angela, have a funeral organized for her."_

 _The soldier took his mask off. "What should I say she died of, mother?" Brandon asked her._

 _"Make something up, oh, and also make some fake proof. We do not want people to bother us afterward, do we?"_

* * *

Tears were running down his face, one chasing the other, and so on... "All this time..." Dipper looked down and sobbed. "All this time you were just protecting me and dad from being killed." He felt as if a bullet had pierced his chest. But this time he felt all the pain that comes with it. "All this time... you truly loved us."


End file.
